
Book^Ife^IX 



OITFICIAL r>OJVAXIOIsr. 



iARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 



WATER-SUPPLY 



AND 



IRKIGATION PAPERS 



OF THE 



UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 



No. 21 



WELLS OF NORTHERN INDIANA.— Leverett 



WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 
1899 



IRRIGATION REPORTS. 

The following list contains the titles and brief descriptions of the principal 

reports relating to water supply and irrigation prepared by the United States 

Geological Survey since 1890: 

1890. 

First Annual Report of the United States Irrigation Survey, 1890; octavo, 123 pp. 

Printed as Part II, Irrigation, of the Tenth Annual Report of the United States Geolog- 
ical Survey, 1888-89. Contains a statement of the origin of the Irrigation Survey, a pre- 
liminary report on the organization and prosecution of the survey of the arid lands for 
purposes of irrigation, and report of work done during 1890. 

1891. 

Second Annual Report of the United States Irrigation Survey, 1891 ; octavo, 395 pp. 

Published as Part II, Irrigation, of the Eleventh Annual Report of the United States 
Geological Survey, 1889-90. Contains a description of the hydrography of the arid region 
and of the engrineering operations carried on by the Irrigation Survey during 1890; also the 
statement of the Director of the Survey to the House Committee on Irrigation, and other 
papers, including a bibliography of irrigation literature. Illustrated by 2d plates and 4 
figures. 

Third Annual Report of the United States Irrigation Survey, 1891; octavo, 576 pp. 

Printed as Part II of the Twelfth Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey, 
1890-91. Contains " Report upon the location and survey of reservoir sites during the fiscal 
year ended June 30, 1891," by A. H. Thompson; "Hydrography of the arid regions," by 
F. H. Newell; and "Irrigation in India," by Herbert M. Wilson. Illustrated by 93 plates 
and 190 figures. 

Bulletins of the Eleventh Census of the United States upon irrigation, prepared by 
F. H. Newell; quarto. 

No. 35, Irrigation in Arizona; No. 60, Irrigation in New Mexico; No. 85, 
Irrigation in Utah; No. 107, Irrigation in Wyoming; No. 153, Irrigation in 
Montana; No. 157, Irrigation in Idaho; No. 163, Irrigation in Nevada; No. 178, 
Irrigation in Oregon; No. 193, Artesian wells for irrigation; No. 198, Irriga- 
tion in Washington. 

1893. 

Irrigation of western United States, by F. H. Newell; extra census bulletin No. 
23, September 9, 1892; quarto, 22 pp. 

Contains tabulations showing the total number, average size, etc., of irrigated holdings, 
the total area and average size of irrigated farms in the subhumid regions, the percentage 
of number of farms irrigated, character of crops, value of irrigated lands, the average cost 
of irrigation, the investment and profits, together with a resume of the water supply and 
a description of irrigation by artesian wells. Illustrated by colored maps showing the 
location and relative extent of the irrigated areas. 

1893. 

Thirteenth Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey, 1891-92, Part 
III, Irrigation, 1893; octavo, 486 pp. 

Consists of three papers: "Water supply for irrigation," by F. H. Newell; "American 
engineering" and "Engineering results or the Irrigation Survey," by Herbert M. Wilson; 
and "Construction of topographic maps and selection and survey of reservoir sites," by 
A. H. Thompson. Illustrated by 77 plates and 119 figures. 

A geological reconnoissance in central Washington, by Israel Cook Russell, 1893; 
octavo, 108 pp., 15 plates. Bulletin No. 108 of the United States Geological 
Survey; price, 15 cents. 

Contains a description of the examination of the geologic structure in and adjacent to 
the drainage basin of Y^ima River and the great plains of the Columbia to the east of this 
area, with special reference to the occurrence of artesian waters, 

1894. 

Report on agriculture by irrigation in the western part of the United States at the 
Eleventh Census, 1890, by F. H. Newell, 1894; quarto, 283 pp. 

Consists of a general description of the condition of irrigation in the United States, the 
area irrigated, cost of works, their value and profits; also describes the water supply, the 
value of water, of artesian wells, reservoirs, and other details; then takes up each State 
and Territory in order, giving a general description of the condition of agriculture by irri- 
gation, and discusses the physical conditions and local peculiarities in each county. 

Fourteenth Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey, 1892-93, in two 
parts; Part II, Accompanying papers, 1894; octavo, 597 pp. 

Contains papers on " Potable waters of the eastern United States," by W J McGee; 
"Natural mineral waters of the United States," by A. C. Peale; and "Results of stream 
measurements," by F, H. Newell. Illustrated by maps and diagrams. 



IRR 21 (Continued on third page of cover.) 



DEPARTMENT OF THE INTEEIOR 



WATER-SUPPLY 



AND 



lEEIGATION PAPEES 



OF THE 



/ 

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 






? 



ISTo. 21 




WASHINGTON 

GOTEENMENT PRINTING OFFICE 
1899 






... ,». 

' •• •• • 

J » ' • 

• « ••• 



• « c > • • c • 

t > » * 

c • • • ' ' 

• • • « 

• • * tl • • 







UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SUEYET 

CHARLES D. WALCOTT, DIRECTOK 



WELLS OF NORTHERN INDIANA 



BY 



^ 



FRA-NK LB^ERETT 




WASHINGTON ' 

GOVERNMENT PRINTINa OFFICE 
1899 



L 









53481 



CONTENTS. 



Page. 

Letter of transmittal 7 

General statement... .-. 9 

Detailed discussion of wells... _ 13 

Lake County _ 13 

Porter County. 15 

Laporte County 18 

St. Joseph County 21 

Elkhart County 23 

Lagrange County. 25 

Steuben County 27 

Dekalb County 29 

Noble County 31 

Kosciusko County . . 35 

Marshall County _ 37 

Starke County 39 

Newton County ... 40 

Jasper County 44 

Pulaski County 46 

Fulton County _ 46 

Whitley County.... 47 

Allen County 48 

Adams County _ 51 

Wells County 53 

Huntington County 54 

Wabash County _. 55 

Miami County 57 

Cass County 59 

White County 60 

Benton County 61 

Warren County 66 

Tippecanoe County 67 

Carroll County 70 

Clinton County _._ 71 

Howard County 73 

Tipton County 75 

Grant County 76 

Blackford County 77 

Jay County 78 

Index __ 81 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Plate I. Map of Indiana showing the relation of the drift to the ordinary 

wells ... 9 

II. Map of Indiana showing the Pleistocene deposits 13 

6 



LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL. 



Department of the Interior, 
United States Geological Survey, 

Division of Hydrography, 

Washington, October 20, 1898. 

Sir : I have the honor to transmit herewith a report on the wells of 
Indiana, prepared by Mr. Frank Leverett, assistant geologist of this 
Survey. This material was brought together by Mr. Leverett in con- 
nection with glacial investigations, as noted in the general discussion 
of the water resources of Indiana and Ohio, published in Part TV of 
the Eighteenth Annual Report of the Survej^, on pages 419-559. 
Many details were omitted in that publication, as the volume assumed 
bulky dimensions; but these detailed facts have considerable value 
and are needed for reference by citizens of Indiana, and it is there- 
fore desirable to make them available by publishing them in the series 
of Water-Supply and Irrigation Papers. 

With these data are presented two maps, one illustrating the dis- 
tribution of the glacial deposits and the other the relation of the drift 
to the ordinary wells of the State. These are portions of Plates 
XXXVI and XXXVII of Part IV of the Eighteenth Annual Report. 
Their reproduction in connection with this paper is essential to the 
clear understanding of the descriptive matter. 

Very respectfully, F. H. Newell, 

Hydrographer in Charge. 

Hon. Charles D. Walcott, 

Director United States Geological Survey. 



/i 




r^ 



u- 



i\ 




( ^ 



> 

« 

< 
U 

8 

9 
o 

tel 
O 

0) 











I 



8 2*' 



-■•---'• •*• r* *• f« *•«••«•« ft If MHH AX iMvJm* ♦♦•««»««#*"'Ji '&•• 



A 



\. 



wmm 



1 -I !i 



: =' \% *\ 



x. 







X. 



^ 



US, GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 



WATER-SUPPLY PAPER No. 21 PL. I. 



COUNTIES IN INDIANA 

No. 1 LAKE 



6, DEKALB 

3, NOBLE 
' iO. KOSCIUSKO 
RSHALL 
' 12. STARKE 




MAI 



7m^ INOL^NA SH()W1N(V THK UKKATDN OF TIIK DRIFT TO THr; OMDINAin- ^^^:LLS 

BY I'-HjVNK 1.I',\ l.i:r. I i.Wtll 



WELLS OF NORTHERN INDIANA.^ 



By Frank Leverett. 



GEI^TERAI. STATEMEIS^T. 

The data included in this discussion of Indiana wells were collected 
mainly during the prosecution of the studj^ of the glacial drift by the 
writer under the direction of Prof. T. C. Chamberlin. The portion 
of the State north of the latitude of Terre Haute and Brookville, 
embracing about two-thirds of the area, has been examined much 
more thoroughly than the portion south of that line. In the former 
district nearly every township has been traversed and close attention 
given to the conditions for obtaining wells. In the latter district only 
a few hasty trips have been made. Consequently the discussion for 
the northern two-thirds of the State is much fuller than for the south- 
ern third. In addition to material personally collected a considerable 
amount is taken from reports of the Indiana geological survey, many 
well sections having been published in those reports. Such material 
is accredited to the original sources. 

A portion of the State, as has long been known, lies outside the 
glacial boundary. The approximate position of the boundary has 
been determined in part by Prof. G. F. Wright, in connection with the 
United States Geological Survey, and in part by members of the Indi- 
ana geological survey. Professor Wright's location of the glacial 
boundary in the southwestern part of the State appears to be less 
accurate than in the southeastern part. In the former district it has 
been found by members of the Indiana survey and also by Prof. J. C. 
Branner to be in places at least 20 miles back from the limits of the 
drift, but in the latter district the writer's studies have sustained, in 
the main, the tracing made by Professor Wright, no drift having been 
noted more than 6 or 8 miles outside his line. The latest results con- 
cerning the position of the glacial boundary are embodied in the 
glacial map of Indiana and Ohio here presented (PL I). It will be 
observed that the boundary lies south of the Ohio River as far west 
as the vicinit}^ of Louisville, Kentucky. Just above this city it crosses 
the Ohio and turns abruptly northward, passing through western 
Clarke, northeastern Washington, central Jackson, and eastern Brown 

^ The length of a single paper in this series being limited by law to 100 pages, it is necessary to 
divide this paper into two parts and issue them separately. The last part, relating to the south- 
ern portion of the State, will be published as Water-Supply and Irrigation Paper No. 26 (in press). 

9 



10 WELLS OF NORTHERN INDIANA. [no. 21. 

counties, Indiana, a distance of about 50 miles. The course is then 
westward for about 30 miles, through northern Brown and north- 
ern Monroe counties. In northwestern Monroe County it makes an 
abrupt turn to the south and leads through western Monroe, eastern 
Greene, western Martin, and northwestern Dubois counties. From 
southwestern Dubois County the course is south of west across Pike, 
Gibson, and Posey counties to the extreme southwestern corner of 
the State. 

The average thickness of the drift in the State is estimated to be 
about 130 feet. It consists of a complex series of sheets, differing 
widely in age and in structure. These sheets are made known largely 
by the well sections which appear in this report, for streams and nat- 
ural exposures seldom reach the bottom of the drift. From a study 
of the drift sheets of Indiana and neighboring States, the glacial suc- 
cession has been worked out sufficiently to determine the leading 
stages of glaciation and deglaciation. 

It appears that the sheet which forms the surface of much of the 
glaciated portion of Illinois, and which is known as the Illinoian drift 
sheet, is exposed only in a few counties in Indiana, in the southwestern 
and southeastern portions of the State, the remainder being covered 
by later deposits of drift. The thickness where this single sheet is 
exposed to view averages scarcely more than 30 feet, or less than 
one-fourth the estimated average for the State. 

In Illinois and Iowa there is a sheet of glacial drift exposed to view 
which was apparently deposited contemporaneously with the great 
silt deposit of the Mississippi Valley, to which the German term loess 
has been applied. This sheet has not yet been identified in Indiana, 
but the Illinoian drift sheet, where exposed to view, is capped by a 
deposit of loess-like silt, several feet in thickness, which was in all 
probability deposited at the time of the loess deposition of the Mis- 
sissippi Valley and of the correlative drift sheet, which from its 
development in Iowa is known as the lowan sheet. The lowan drift 
sheet may be present underneath later drift sheets in the northern 
portion of Indiana. 

The next important stage of glaciation has been termed the Wis- 
consin, chiefly because of its extent and early recognition as a later 
sheet of drift in the State of that name. It covers the northeastern 
fourth of Illinois and extends south into Indiana, about to the lati- 
tude of Terre Haute and Brookville. The border is somewhat irregu- 
lar, but departs scarcely more than 20 miles to the north or south of a 
line leading eastward from Terre Haute to Brookville, the greatest 
departure being in the western part of the State, where it is deflected 
northward near the line of the Wabash River about 20 miles. The 
course of this boundary is indicated on the glacial map (PI. I). It 
passes near the towns of Terre Haute, Rockville, Greencastle, Moores- 
ville, Columbus, and Brookville. The loess referred to above covers 



LEVERETT.] GLACIAL MOVEMENTS. 11 

the drift to the south of this line, but passes beneath the drift of 
Wisconsin age to the north of it. In the discussion of counties near 
this boundary numerous sections are given showing that the Wiscon- 
sin drift is much fresher than that which underlies it. The difference 
in age is known not only by difference in induration of the bowlder 
clays, but also by the presence of a distinct soil formed on a land 
surface between the withdrawal of the ice of lUinoian age and the 
glacial advances which resulted in the deposition of later drift sheets. 
A soil is found between the Illinoian drift sheet and the capping of 
loess as well as between the latter and the overlying Wisconsin drift. 

From the time the ice sheet occupied the outer border of the Wis- 
consin drift down to its final withdrawal from the State, it was 
apparently subjected to considerable oscillation of front and also to a 
shifting in direction of movement. In the earlier stages the move- 
ment was apparently nearly southward across northern Indiana, but 
in the later stages there was a change to a south westward movement. 
There is a growing tendency among the glacialists who are familiar 
with this region to separate the two movements, giving the name 
Early Wisconsin to the southward and Late Wisconsin to the south- 
westward movement. 

During the southwestward movement Indiana was covered by ice 
nearly as far south as during the southward movement, but Illinois 
was invaded to a comparatively short distance at that stage of gla- 
ciation. During this southwestward movement the ice sheet was 
divided into a series of lobes whose extent and characteristics have 
been set forth by Chamberlin in the Third Annual Report of this 
Survey. At the junction of these lobes great interlobate moraines 
were formed. One of these, occupying the line between the Saginaw 
and Erie-Maumee lobes, leads from the northeastern corner of Indiana 
southwestward to Cass County. These interlobate moraines are gen- 
erally more prominent than those formed at the ends of the lobes. 
The one just referred to has a few knolls which rise nearly 200 feet 
above the neighboring basins, though the oscillations in level between 
knolls and basins are generally less than 50 feet. One of the most 
prominent moraines formed at the end of an ice lobe is the Valparaiso, 
situated north of the Kankakee Basin, in northwestern Indiana, and 
so called from the city of Valparaiso, located on it. It was formed 
by the Lake Michigan glacier at a time when that glacier extended 
but little beyond the limits of the shore of Lake Michigan. Another 
prominent moraine, known as the Maxinkuckee, leads southward from 
Michigan past South Bend to Lake Maxinkuckee, and thence east- 
ward to join the great interlobate moraine formed between the Sagi- 
naw and Erie lobes. It was formed by the Saginaw ice lobe at the 
time it first became clearly differentiated from the Erie lobe. These 
and several other moraines are discussed in connection with the well 
sections which have been sunk in them. Further discussion at this 
point seems, therefore, unnecessary. 



12 WELLS OF NORTHERN INDIANA. [no. 21. 

It will be observed that the structure of the drift is intimately 
related to the position with reference to the ice margin at the time of 
deposition. Much of the drift deposited under the margin of the ice 
is a compact, bowlder clay, to which the Scottish term till is applied, 
while that deposited at the end, or carried beyond the ice by waters 
issuing from it, consists largely of sand and gravel, or if the issuing 
waters were sluggish the deposits may be of a silty character. 

In the discussion of the counties which border the Kankakee marsh 
attention is called to a deposit of sand which covers the glacial 
drift. It was formed apparently by a glacial lake which occupied 
that region for a brief period while the ice sheet was still blocking the 
Wabash Valley to the south. This lake was long since recognized by 
Bradley and named Lake Kankakee.^ A lake formerly extended 
beyond the present shore of Lake Michigan into the northwestern 
counties of Indiana, to which the writer has recently applied the name 
Lake Chicago.^ It had south westward discharge, through what is 
known as the Chicago outlet, into the Des Plaines River and thence 
to the Illinois and Mississippi. This lake also has left deposits of 
sand on the counties of Indiana which it covered. In the northeastern 
part of Indiana there is also an old lake area with well-defined beach 
lines, occupied by the glacial Lake Maumee,^ which had southwest- 
ward discharge, through the "Fort Wayne outlet," into the Wabash 
River. This lake bottom is covered less thickly by deposits of saod 
and silt than the bottoms of Lakes Kankakee and Chicago. 

The discussion begins at the northwestern corner of the State, and 
counties are taken up in order in tiers, the first tier running west to 
east, the second from east to west, the third from west to east, etc. , 
following nearly the numbering of the counties on the maps. In the 
case of the southern counties, the data are so meager that they are 
considered in groups under the head of the immediately subjacent 
rock formation. 

The records of wells here presented should not be understood to 
indicate the usual depth, for the majority of wells probably are less 
than 25 feet in depth. They represent the deepest concerning which 
information could be obtained, and are selected because such wells 
convey more information cod erning the drift structure and its capac- 
ity for supplying wells than the shallow ones. The relation of the drift 
to the ordinary wells is set forth in PL 11. 

The borings for natural gas, which are especially numerous in the 
central and eastern parts of the State, often throw light upon the 
structure of the deeper portion of the drift and its water resources 
where deep water wells have not been made. They also throw con- 
siderable light upon the water horizons in the underlying rock strata. 
Such information as was obtained from the records of these borings is 

> Geol. of nUnois, Vol. IV, 1870, pp. 326-229. 

2 Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey, Chicago Acad, of Sciences, Bull. No. 2, 1897, pp. 64-66. 

3 C. R. Dryer, Sixteenth Ann. Kept. Indiana Geol. Survey, 1888, pp. 107-114. 



LEVERETT.] LAKE COUNTY. 13 

here presented, though it is not so full as could be desired. In this 
connection it may be remarked that information concerning water sup- 
ply in the deeper part of the drift and in the underlying rocks is very 
meager, compared with the knowledge concerning the surface portion 
of the drift. Information concerning these deeper beds has been 
greatly extended since the discovery of natural gas. In many 
instances borings which failed to obtain gas have been subsequently 
turned to use because of the water which they yield. Thus a resource 
which was overlooked in the excitement incident to the discovery of 
gas is likely to receive proper development in the near future. 

DETAILED DISCUSSIOlsr OF WEIjES. 
LAKE COUNTY. 

General statement. — Lake County, situated in the extreme north- 
west corner of Indiana, has for its northern border the shore of Lake 
Michigan and for its southern border the Kankakee River. It extends 
eastward from the State line about 16 miles, and has an area of 500 
square miles. 

The Valparaiso moraine leads west to east across the central por- 
tion of the county, and has a width of about 10 miles. It is a some- 
what elevated rolling tract, standing 100 to 200 feet higher than Lake 
Michigan. Wells are sunk to considerable depth, few wells being 
obtained at less than 25 feet, while many are 50 to 100 feet or more. 
These wells are obtained usually in beds or pockets of sand or gravel 
between till sheets. 

North of the moraine there is a low plain, much of which was cov- 
ered by Lake Chicago, the glacial predecessor of Lake Michigan, which 
had its outlet southwest to the Des Plaines River. For several miles 
south from the present shore of Lake Michigan the sand deposits of 
this old lake bottom are so heavy that wells 10 to 40 feet in depth are 
often obtained without reaching the underlying till. But near the 
moraine the sand becomes thinner, and is in places but a mere skim 
coating. On this portion of the plain wells are carried to as great 
depth as on the moraine, and water is obtained in gravel deposits in 
the till. 

South of the Valparaiso moraine is a narrow strip of gravelly land 
formed by the waters escaping from the ice at the time it occupied 
the moraine. On this plain the wells usually obtain their water at 
depths of 10 to 25 feet, without reaching the bottom of the gravel 
deposit. Extending several miles north from the Kankakee, in the 
southern part of the county, there is a marsh too wet for settlement. 

The glacial deposits of Lake County are so heavy that wells may 
be obtained without entering the underlying rock. Borings for arte- 
sian water or for natural gas, made at Hammond, Hobart, and Crown 
Point, penetrate 110, 160, and 176 feet of drift, respectively. From 
these borings it appears that the drift of this county may have an 
average thickness of about 150 feet. 



14 WELLS OF NORTHERN INDIANA. [no. 21. 

Individual wells. — At Hammond many wells are driven to a depth 
of 10 to 18 feet in sand, entering water at about 8 feet. Filters are 
used in some cases. Below the sand is a nearly solid bed of blue till, 
90 feet in thickness, which contains but little water. At about 110 
feet Lockport (often called Niagara) limestone is entered, which fur- 
nishes water containing sulphureted hydrogen. The artesian well 
boring at the distillery, 1,900 feet in depth, is discussed elsewhere.^ 

At Whiting a portion of the water supply is furnished bj'^ shallow 
wells in the beach sand, 20 feet or less in depth. A portion of the 
water supply is pumped from Lake Michigan by the Standard Oil 
Company and made use of by many families. 

The villages of Gibson, Hessville, ToUeston, Liverpool, and Lake 
all depend upon shallow wells driven or dug to a depth of 10 to 40 
feet in the surface sand. In some cases contamination is liable to 
occur from privy vaults and other sources. 

At Hobart the wells 15 to 25 feet in depth usually penetrate a few 
feet of clay, which probably prevents contamination of water. A well 
at Owens's brickyard reaches the underlying rock and has the follow- 
ing section: 

Feet. 

Yellow silt, pebblelesG, calcareous 10 

Blue silt, pebbleless, calcareous. _ __. 50 

Blue till, hard and stony. __ 97 

Hard rock , ..„ _.. 3 

Total - 160 

Mr. Leavenworth's well, 3 miles west of Hobart, depth 80 feet, is 
above the limits of the lake deposit and is mainly through blue till. 
Several wells in that vicinity 50 to 100 feet deep do not reach the 
bottom of the drift. 

Wells in the vicinity of Ainsworth, on the north slope of the Val- 
paraiso moraine, often exceed 50 feet. After penetrating yellow till 
10 or 12 feet they are mainly through blue till. 

In the vicinity of Crown Point, near the crest of the Valparaiso 
moraine, there are several tubular wells 75 or 80 feet in depth, mainly 
through blue till. 

Tubular wells in the vicinity of St. John, near the crest of the mo- 
raine, obtain water at 50 to 100 feet in sand beds included in the till. 

WeUs on the south slope of the Valparaiso moraine usually enter a 
water-bearing sand or gravel after penetrating a few feet of till, water 
being more easily obtained there than on the crest or north slope. 

A well at the powder factory, 1 mile west of Miller Station, in the 
northern part of the county, 75 feet in depth, entered a bed of molluscan 
shells at the bottom of the sand, 40 feet below the surface and proba- 
bly several feet above the level of Lake Michigan. Below the shells 
a bluish silt or fine sand is penetrated 35 feet. 



See Eighteenth Ann. Rept. U. S. Geol. Survey, 1896-97, Part IV, 1897, p. 489. 



LEVERETT.] DETAILED DISCUSSION OF WELLS. 15 

PORTER COUNTY. 

General statement. — Porter County is situated just east of Lake 
County, and has Lake Michigan for its northern and the Kankakee 
River for its southern border. It is 15 miles in breadth, 25 to 30 
miles in length, and has an area of 410 square miles. 

The Valparaiso moraine traverses the county from southwest to 
northeast, slightly north of the center, and has a width of about 8 
miles. It reaches a higher elevation in this county than in Lake, 
some points being fully 250 feet above Lake Michigan. It includes 
several lakes, one of which furnishes the water supply for Valparaiso, 
the county seat. In the western portion of the county till predomi- 
nates as far as wells penetrate — 150 to 200 feet. But in the eastern 
portion of the county, where the moraine reaches its highest eleva- 
tion, it contains a large amount of dry sand and gravel, and strong 
wells are obtained only by penetrating to a depth of 100 to 160 leet. 

Extending north from the moraine there is a low plain reaching to 
the Calumet River, which is underlain, as a rule, by till, but is coated 
quite generally with sand. In this plain wells vary greatly in depth, 
but are usually 20 to 40 feet. 

North of the Calumet River there is a narrow ridge of till forming 
a feeble morainic belt. Its width seldom exceeds 1 mile and its 
relief is but 30 to 50 feet. Along this ridge wells are frequently 75 
to 125 feet in depth, it being one of the most difficult places in the 
county to obtain water. 

North of this till ridge there are heavy deposits of lake sand, render- 
ing a portion of the district a barren waste. The sand is drifted by 
the wind into dunes 100 to 200 feet in height. This belt, however, 
occupies only a breadth of 2 or 3 miles, though extending the entire 
width of the county. This district is largely uninhabited. In the 
farms along its border next the till ridge wells usually obtain water 
before reaching the bottom of the sand at depths of 25 to 50 feet. 

South of the Valparaiso moraine the formations are like those of 
Lake County, there being a gravel plain several miles in width, 
extending on the south into the uninhabited Kankakee marsh. The 
moraine extends spurs out into this gravel plain nearly to the borders 
of the marsh. 

The glacial deposits of this county, like those of Lake, are so heavy 
that wells obtain water without entering the underlying rock. Bor- 
ings for natural gas made at Valparaiso, Hebron, and Boone Grove 
penetrate 126, 108, and 140 feet of drift, respectively, while a boring 
for an artesian well in the northeast part of the county has 245 feet 
of drift. It appears from these borings that the average thickness of 
the drift in this county may slightly exceed 150 feet. Several wells 
along the Valparaiso moraine, as indicated below, reach a depth of 
over 150 feet without entering rock. 



16 ' WELLS OF NORTHERN INDIANA. [no. 21. 

Individual wells. — The Blair artesian well, in the extreme north- 
east corner of the county (sec. 1, T. 37, R. 5 W.), has the following 
section : 

Feet. 

1. Sand with peaty beds near bottom 30 

8. Adhesive blue clay with thin sand beds 55 

3. Gravel and sand with water 9 

4. Blue clay like No. 3 _ _ 110 

5. Gravel with water 6 

6. Blue clay like No. 2... ._ .._ 35 

7. Shale (?) 1 

8. Hard gray limestone . 180 

9. Soft rock, subject to caving in places 66 

10. Hard limestone 372 

Total . 864 

The well mouth is about 20 feet above Lake Michigan, or 600 feet 
above tide. Flows occur at 68, 72, 78, 80, 85, 95, and about 200 feet 
in the drift. The flows were weak until a depth of about 85 feet was 
reached, when a strong flow with head 18 feet above the surface was 
obtained. The flow from 200 feet is also strong. The water from all 
the veins in the drift is fresh and of good quality. At a depth of 370 
feet sulphur water was struck, which gradually increased in strength 
in the next 150 feet. The head is, however, 10 feet lower than that 
from the drift deposits. The combined flow is about 400 barrels per 
hour and the temperature 62° F. 

At Furnessville, on a beach line in the north part of the county, a 
well 80 feet in depth penetrated beach sand 25 feet, at the base of 
which logs were encountered. Below the logs is a blue clay, probably 
till, which was penetrated about 50 feet when a water-bearing sand 
and gravel was struck. 

A well on the beach line immediately north of Calumet River, near 
the east line of the county, obtains water at the base of the beach 
sand at 23 feet. Neighboring wells south of the beach line enter a 
blue clay, nearly pebbleless, at 3 to 5 feet, and in some cases penetrate 
this to a depth of 50 feet before obtaining water. 

At Chesterton and Hageman, in the northern part of the county, 
wells are seldom more than 20 feet in depth, and usually obtain water 
at 10 or 12 feet. As they are mainly through sand, there is danger of 
contamination. 

Records of several wells were obtained along the till ridge north of 
Calumet River, near Chesterton. They penetrate yellow till 18 or 20 
feet, below which is a blue till, hard and stony, which is usually 
penetrated 40 or 50 feet before a water-bearing sand or gravel can be 
obtained. In one well a dry sand, 15 or 20 feet in thickness, was 
found between the yellow and blue tills, and the blue till there 
afforded no water until it had been penetrated 70 feet. The depth of 
the well is 125 feet. 



LEVERETT.] PORTER COUNTY. 17 

From the Calumet River south to the Valparaiso moraine water is 
usually obtained at 8 to 25 feet. In some cases surface clay a few 
feet in depth is penetrated, but quite as often the wells are almost 
entirely in sand or gravel. In the western part of the county, how- 
ever, in the vicinity of Wheeler and northward for 4 or 5 miles, this 
plain is underlain by a compact till, and wells are in some places 
difficult to obtain. There is a small till ridge leading north from 
Wheeler, on which it is especially difficult to obtain wells. Several 
borings have been made along the ridge to a depth of 100 to 200 feet. 
In one case a boring was abandoned at 200 feet without obtaining 
water. In another case water was obtained after penetrating 155 feet 
of till. Another well found water after penetrating 115 feet of till. 
A plain known as Twenty Mile Prairie, lying north and east of the 
till ridge just mentioned, is underlain by a very fine sand, so that 
wells have been carried to a depth of 150 feet before entering coarse 
sand or gravel. On this prairie there is usually: 

Feet. 

1. Yellow till 7 to 10 

2. Bluetill-- - 20 

3. Fine gray quicksand 75 to 125 

Passing to the Valparaiso moraine, we find in the western part of 
the county a region in which strong wells are difficult to obtain, 
except in a few favored localities, there being a very compact till, 
similar to that on ihe plain north of the moraine. At Smalls Cross- 
ing, 3 miles southwest of Wheeler, a well penetrates the following 
beds: 

Feet. 

1. Yellowtill 8to 10 

3. Blue till ., 35 to 40 

3. A fine sandy deposit, in places resembling till 150 

4. Coarse water-bearing sand. 19 

Total.. - --- 219 

Mr. Currier's well, 1 mile south of Wheeler, in which no good vein 
of water was found, penetrates — 

Feet. 

1. Yellowtill -- 15 

2. Blue till, soft 140 

3. Blue till, hard 39 

Total - ---- - 194 

On the south slope of the moraine in the western part of the county, 
water-bearing sand or gravel is usually found at about 40 or 50 feet. 

Following the moraine northeastward to Valparaiso, the till is found 
to give place in its lower portion to beds of sand and gravel. In the 
southern part of Valparaiso, and also for some distance south of the 
city, wells often obtain water at a depth of 25 feet. Occasional deeper 
wells in that district show a large amount of coarse sand or fine gravel 
below a few feet of surface till. On the elevated ground in the north- 

IRR 21 2 



18 WELLS OF NORTHERN INDIANA. [no. 21. 

ern part of Valparaiso wells usually penetrate about 30 or 40 feet of 
yellow and blue till, underlain by dry sand, which is often penetrated 
50 or 60 feet before water-bearing sand or gravel is reached. The 
drift is of this character for several miles northeast from Val- 
paraiso, and wells are often carried to a depth of 130 to 160 feet 
before obtaining water. For example, a boring at Jackson Center 
penetrates — 

Feet. 

1. Yellowtill _ 20 

2. Dry sand 90 

3. Blue-gray clay, tough and spongy 45 or 50 

4. Water-bearing sand _ _ _ 10 

Total 170 

In some wells near Jackson Center a water-bearing sand is found at 
the top of the blue clay (No. 3) at about 120 feet. Where this is too 
fine to be easily screened the wells continue through the blue clay, 
obtaining water in coarse sand at 160 to 175 feet. Near Flint Lake 
the wells are 100 to 130 feet deep and obtain water in the sand above 
the blue clay. 

In southern Porter County a boring for gas at Boone Grove pene- 
trates — 

Feet. 

1. Yellow loamy clay _ _._ _.. 8 

2. Water-bearing sand _. 92 

3. Hard blue till 40 

4. Black shale (Devonian) 125 

5. Limestone ._ . 15 

Total - - - _... 280 

In the gravel plain south of the Valparaiso moraine wells usually 
obtain water at 10 to 20 feet, without penetrating any till. The gravel 
in places, however, does not coat the sheet of till that lies outside the 
moraine. Thus at Kouts Station there is a surface till 18 or 20 feet, 
beneath which water is obtained in a deposit of gravel at 25 to 35 feet. 
At Hebron, also, wells encounter till, and water is found at about 40 
feet. 

The Kankakee marsh extends several miles north of the river in the 
southern part of the countj^, and this area is so generally covered with 
water that it is unfit for settlement. 

LAPORTE COUNTY. 

General statement. — Laporte County is situated immediately east of 
Porter. It fronts for a few miles on Lake Michigan, on its northern 
boundary, but that boundary is formed mainly by the State line. 
The southern boundarj^ is formed mainly by the Kankakee River, but 
in the southeastern part the county extends a few miles beyond the 
river. The width of the county is 21 to 23 miles and the length is 22 
to 32 miles, being greatest at the western border. The area is 540 
square miles. 



LEVERETT.] LAPORTE COUNTY. 19 

The Valparaiso moraine leads northeastward across the northwest- 
ern portion of the county and has a width of about 6 miles. Its crest 
has an elevation of 225 to 300 feet or more above Lake Michigan. It 
incloses several lakes, from one of which the city water supply of 
Laporte is obtained. It rises very abruptly on its northwest border 
above the low plain that lies between it and Lake Michigan, but on 
its southeast border a gravel outwash from the moraine is built up 
nearly to the level of the crest, and the descent is gradual from the 
moraine to the Kankakee marsh. The marsh stands fully 100 feet 
above Lake Michigan in eastern Laporte County and about 75 feet at 
the western border of the county. It is, therefore, 150 to 200 feet or 
more below the crest of the moraine. The gravel plain makes a descent 
of 75 or 100 feet in the interval of 8 or 10 miles between the moraine 
and the marsh. 

On the low plain bordering Lake Michigan, in the northwestern part 
of the county, there are a series of narrow till ridges or feeble moraines 
which govern the drainage of that region to a marked degree, though 
having a relief of but 30 to 50 feet. On the immediate border of the 
lake there are prominent dunes, rising in places to a height of 150 feet 
above lake level. 

The glacial deposits are so heavy that ordinary wells are obtained 
without entering the underlying rock. A boring for gas at Lacrosse, 
in the southern part of the county, is reported to enter rock at 38 feet. 
The gas boring at Laporte, the county seat, penetrates 295 feet of 
drift. The gas boring at Michigan City penetrates 250 feet, while the 
artesian well at the penitentiary at Michigan City penetrates only 170 
feet. These borings indicate that the thickness varies greatly, and 
are scarcely sufficient to justify an estimate of the average thickness 
for the county. 

Individual wells. — The gas- well boring at Michigan City has the 
following section : 

Feet. 

1. Dry surface sand. _ ..- 15 

2. Quicksand. ._ 10 

3. Gravel 5 

4. Blue till, pebbly and rather hard 167 

5. Gravel containing cobble and bowlders 15 

6. Sand and gravel, with occasional large stones -. 40 

7. Limestone, with thin beds of shale, extending to the bottom of the well 570 

Total... -.- - 819 

At a depth of 210 feet a flow of fresh water was obtained from the 
drift, with a head 15 feet above the surface. The strength of the 
flow increased downward to the rock at 250 feet. A strong flow of 
sulphur water was obtained from the limestone at about 450 feet. 



20 WELLS OF NORTHERN INDIANA. Ino.21. 

The artesian well at the penitentiary, 1 mile west of Michigan City, 
has the following section reported by Dr. Levette : ^ 

Feet. 

1. Surface sand _ 48 

2. Clay _ 4 

3. Sand. 24 

4. Clay 66 

5. Sand. 30 

6. Marcellus shale 76 

7. Upper Silurian limestone, with fossils 293^ 

Total 541i 

The boring is reported to terminate in a porous limestone rock 
which furnishes a flow of water strongly impregnated with sulphu- 
reted hydrogen. Its head is 22 feet above the surface of the ground ; 
rate of discharge about 300 gallons per minute; temperature, 57° F. 
The well mouth being about 18 feet above the level of Lake Michi- 
gan, or 600 feet above tide, the head at this well is 622 feet above 
tide. 

A remarkable instance of the rise of water in a sand dune above 
lake level, was found at the Yankee Slide, a dune on the shore of 
Lake Michigan, in the west part of Michigan City. Wells on its 
slope, at an altitude of 40 or 50 feet above the lake, obtain water at 
a depth of but 12 feet. 

The wells on the low plain in northwestern Laporte County, and 
also on the till ridges which traverse that plain, show a prepon- 
derance of till. The water-bearing sand and gravel appears to be in 
local deposits or sheets of limited extent. Neighboring wells often 
have very dissimilar sections. In some a sand or gravel bed appears, 
which is absent in others; some show a solid bed of till to a depth of 
75 or 100 feet, while others present alternations of till with sand or 
gravel. The deepest well record obtained on this plain is that at a 
farmhouse 4:^ miles south of Michigan City, and is as follows : 

Feet. 

1. Yellow till 20 

2. Dry sand 8 to 10 

3. Blue till 85 to 90 

4. Sand 50. 

Total 165 

There are beach lines traversing this plain immediately south and 
east from Michigan City, on which wells are sometimes obtained at 
depths of 12 to 16 feet without reaching the bottom of the beach 
deposits. 

On the north slope of the Valparaiso moraine, near the west line of 
the county, and just south of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern 
Railway, a well 148 feet in depth enters dry sand below till at about 

1 Fifth Ann. Kept. Indiana Geol. Survey, 1873, pp. 470-471. 



LEVERETT.] ST. JOSEPH COUNTY. 21 

20 feet, which continues to the water-bearing sand and gravel near 
the bottom. Occasional deep wells along this moraine show that sand 
and gravel, as in the above section, greatly preponderate over the till. 
As a rule, however, wells are obtained along the moraine without pene- 
trating to greater depth than 50 feet. 

Wells on the gravel plain, south of the moraine, are usually obtained 
at 10 to 20 feet. Several villages situated on this gravel plain depend 
upon these shallow wells for drinking water, though the water appears 
liable to contamination. 

The gas-well boring near Lacrosse, in the southern part of the 
county, enters water in gravel 5 feet below the surface, and wells in 
that vicinity are only 10 to 17 feet in depth. The boring was carried 
to a depth of 838 feet, but water does not rise above the surface, 
which is 675 feet above tide. The well is used for watering stock. 

ST. JOSEPH COUNTY. 

General statement — St. Joseph County is situated east of Laporte, 
about midway of the north boundary of the State. Its area is 470 
square miles. About one-half the county is a gravel plain formed by 
the outwash from the ice sheet. In the northwestern portion of the 
county the outwash is from the Valparaiso moraine, and the plain 
descends from about 800 feet at the border of the moraine to 725 feet 
at the border of the Kankakee marsh. In the southwestern portion 
of the county the outwash is westward from the Maxinkuckee moraine 
of the Saginaw lobe, and there is a similar descent from the moraine 
to the Kankakee marsh. In the northeastern portion of the county 
there is an extensive gravel plain along the St. Joseph River, whose 
head is in southern Michigan in a later moraine of the Saginaw lobe. 
The southeastern part of the county is occupied by a till plain which 
borders the Maxinkuckee moraine on the east. The Maxinkuckee 
moraine passes diagonally across the county from the southwest to 
the north border and has a width of about 5 miles. It is interrupted 
by a gap at the St. Joseph River near South Bend 2 or 3 miles in 
width. The highest portions of this moraine stand fully 300 feet 
above Lake Michigan, or about 900 feet above tide. 

Very little is known concerning the thickness of the glacial deposits, 
there being, so far as the writer is aware, but one point within the 
county where rock has been struck. A gas boring at South Bend, in 
the valley of St. Joseph River, has 137 feet of drift. Its altitude is 
but 725 feet above tide, or fully 150 feet lower than the uplands of 
the southeastern portion of the county. If, therefore, the rock sur- 
face has a general level as low as at South Bend, the drift of the 
county would be from 120 to 300 feet in thickness, with an average of 
perhaps 200 feet. 



22 WELLS OF NORTHERN INDIANA. [no. 21. 

Individual wells. — The gas- well boring at South Bend is reported by 
Dr. Phinney^ as follows: 

Feet. 

1. Sand ^._ 25 

2. Gravel 20 

3. Clay 30 

4. Sand _ 25 

5. Gravel 37 

6. Shales 238 

7. Limestone .... 805 

8. Limestones and shales .. _. 220 

9. Utica shale 185 

10. Trenton limestone 85 

TotaL 1,670 

Salt water was struck at 375 and 610 feet, and also in the Trenton 
at 1,670 feet. From the latter horizon it rose within 200 feet of the 
surface. 

The city of South Bend obtains its water supply from about 30 
flowing wells, situated along the valley of the St. Joseph River. The 
wells have a depth of 100 to 125 feet, with an average of about 110 
feet. They are obtained in gravel beneath a bed of claj" 20 to 40 feet 
in thickness, which acts as a cover and prevents contamination of the 
water. This clay is probably a water deposit rather than a glacial 
deposit, as it is described as entirely free from pebbles of any kind. 
The head is sufficient to carry the water above the surface only on 
the low ground along the river bottom, about 670 feet above tide. 
The gravel plain on which the city was built stands 20 to 30 feet; or 
more above the height to which the water will rise. 

The private wells in South Bend are often obtained without pene- 
trating a bed of clay, and the ground water is usually at sufficient 
height to easily receive the leaching from cesspools. Such wells may 
become a source of danger to the health of the city. 

Wells in the city of Mishawaka are also situated on a gravel plain, 
and are usually about 20 feet in depth, and the water stands within 
12 feet of the surface. There appear in the majority of cases to be 
no beds of clay or other impervious material to prevent contamination 
of the water from cesspools. The St. Joseph River, drawn upon for 
fire protection and irrigation, might easily be made to furnish the 
supply for domestic use. 

Wells on Portage Prairie, a gravel plain in the northwest part of 
the county, are usually 60 or 80 feet, and seldom less than 40 feet, in 
depth. A well on this prairie, at Mr. Womer's, near the State line, 
174 feet in depth, has the following section: 

Feet. 

1. Sand and gravel, with water near bottom _ 67 

2. Blue clay and blue quicksand - 99 

3. Gravel and sand, with water - 8 

TotaL 174 

1 Eleventh Ann. Kept. U. S. Geol. Survey, 1889-90, Part 1, 1891, p. 734. 



LEVEBETT.] ELKHART COUNTY. 23 

Wells on the gravel plain west of the Maxinkuckee moraine, near 
North Liberty, usually enter clay below the gravel at about 20 feet. 
Two wells in the Potato Creek valley, east of North Liberty, obtain 
flows of water from depths of 45 and 70 feet. 

Wells at Walkerton, also on the gravel plain, obtain water at 20 or 
30 feet. The water surface is usually nearly 20 feet from the mouth 
of the well, but even this depth is not sufficient to insure freedom 
from contamination, there being no impervious stratum above the 
water vein. 

A well on the gravel plain between Walkerton and North Liberty, 
in sec. 5, T. 35, R. 1 E., 160 feet in depth, is mainly through sand 
and gravel. The water rises nearly to the surface. Wells in that 
vicinity usually obtain water at 10 to 20 feet. One well near Walker- 
ton, however, failing to obtain water in the surface gravel, passed 
through a pebbleless blue clay 50 feet in thickness, obtaining water 
at a depth of 70 or 80 feet. 

Records of two deep wells were obtained on the Maxinkuckee 
moraine, about 8 miles south of South Bend, in sec. 17, T. 36, R. 2 E. 
One at Mr. Sweeney's, 131 feet in depth, after penetrating 22 feet of 
yellow till, passes through alternations of sand and blue till for about 
100 feet before reaching the coarse gravel. The other well, at Mr. 
McClelland's, has a similar section and is 146 feet in depth. 

On the plain east from the Maxinkuckee moraine many wells are 
but 15 to 20 feet in depth, and enter sand or gravel below till near the 
bottom. A few tubular wells are 80 or 100 feet in depths 

ELKHART COUNTY. 

General statement — Elkhart County is situated immediately east of 
St. Joseph County, on the north boundary of the State, and has an area 
of 470 square miles. Like St. Joseph County, a large portion of its sur- 
face is a gravel plain. The most extensive gravel plain is that along 
the St. Joseph River, in the northwest part of the county, which com- 
prises an area of more than 100 square miles. There is also a gravel 
plain along the Elkhart River from the southeast corner of the county 
northwestward to the St. Joseph gravel plain. From the Elkhart 
gravel plain there are extensions southward into Kosciusko County, 
past New Paris and Milford, and southeastward into Noble County 
near Cromwell. This system of gravel plains comprises an area of 
fully 100 square miles. There is also a narrow gravel plain along 
Little Elkhart River, in the northeast part of the county. About 
half the county is, therefore, embraced in the gravel plains. The 
uplands consist of a till plain having an area of about 125 square 
miles, situated in the southwest part of the county, and of morainic 
belts, ^vith small areas of nearly plain surface, occupying an area of 
about 150 square miles in the eastern and southern parts of the 
county. The altitude of the gravel plains is mainly below the 800-foot 



24 WELLS OF NORTHERN INDIANA. [no. 21. 

contour. The uplands are mainly between 800 and 900 feet above 
tide, though small areas on the moraines in the eastern and north- 
eastern parts of the county rise above 900 feet. 

The thickness of the drift is known at three points — Elkhart and 
Goshen, and near New Paris, where it is 122, 162, and 90 feet, respec- 
tively. Should the rock surface of the entire county be as low as at 
these wells, the thickness of the drift would average fully 200 feet. 

Individual wells. — At Elkhart the majority of wells are about 30 
feet in depth. They penetrate sand and gravel for 20 feet or more, 
when a thin bed of clay is usually found as a cover for the water- 
bearing gravel. The mayor reports that he considers the clay a pro- 
tection against contamination. 

A few wells in Elkhart have been put down to a depth of 100 to 120 
feet, which have sufficient head to overflow on the low ground near 
the streams. They penetrate usually a large amount of blue clay, and 
obtain water in a coarse gravel or cobble near the base of the drift. 
The water from these flowing wells is chalybeate. 

At Goshen the city water supply is from a large well, 34 feet in 
depth and 30 feet in diameter. After penetrating a few feet of sur- 
face sand, it passes through 19 feet of blue clay, which is thought to 
insure its freedom from contamination. The water is obtained from 
a coarse sand beneath the blue clay. Its head is sufficient to bring it 
to the level of the well mouth. 

One of the gas- well borings at Goshen was carried only to the Lock- 
port limestone, where salt water was struck which rose to the surface. 
Another gas- well boring in that city was carried to a depth of 239 feet 
into the Trenton (Phinney). So far as known no use is made of the 
water from either of these wells. 

In the vicinity of Middlebury, in the eastern part of the county, on 
the elevated portions of the moraine, tubular wells are usually 80 or 
100 feet deep and penetrate a large amount of till. 

A well on the border of the St. Joseph gravel plain in the northeast 
part of the county, in sec. 27, T. 38, R. 7 E., is mainly through gravel 
to a depth of 65 feet. Wells on this plain are usually but 15 or 20 
feet. 

Near New Paris, on the border of a morainic ridge, one well pene- 
trates till to a depth of 110 feet, another, 1 mile north, 102 feet in 
depth, is mainly in sand and gravel. It is thought to have struck 
rock at about 90 feet. The morainic tracts in that vicinity usually 
contain more gravel and sand than till. Knolls are often composed 
largely of gravel. In the eastern and northeastern part of the county 
the morainic tracts contain a larger proportion of till. 

The upland plain in the southwestern portion of the county is a 
continuation of the plain of southeastern St. Joseph County, and its 
wells have similar depth and structure, being through till for a dis- 
tance of 20 or 25 feet, when a water-bearing sand or gravel is struck. 



LEVEBETT.] LAGRANGE COUNTY. 25 

In some cases wells are obtained at about 10 feet in a bed of sand or 
gravel between the yellow and blue till. A few tubular wells have 
been sunk to a depth of 80 or 100 feet to a water-bearing sand or gravel 
below a sheet of blue till. 

LAGRANGE COUNTY. 

General statement— LsLgrsmge County is situated immediately east 
of Elkhart, on the north boundary of the State, and has an area of 
384 square miles. It is one of the most elevated counties in the State, 
the greater part of its surface being above the 900-foot contour, while 
several tracts in the eastern part of the county, aggregating an area 
of perhaps 75 square miles, stand above the 1,000-foot contour. It 
has several small morainic belts, formed by the Saginaw lobe during 
its recession. It has also conspicuous morainic hills in its north- 
western corner and on the eastern border of the county. There is one 
extensive gravel plain in the county, traversed by Pigeon River. It 
lies on the southwest border of a prominent Saginaw moraine, which 
occupies northeastern Lagrange County and passes northwestward 
into Michigan. This plain has a breadth of 2 to 6 miles and traverses 
nearly the entire width of the county, a distance of over 20 miles. 
Aside from this main gravel plain there are small areas underlain by 
gravel, one of which, known as the Haw patch, covers several square 
miles on the southern boundary of the county; another borders the 
Little Elkhart River in the western part of the county. 

So far as known to the writer, the bottom of the drift has been reached 
by only one boring in this county, though it has been penetrated to a 
depth of 200 feet in several wells, and there are numerous wells 100 
feet or more in depth. It is thought by Dr. C. R. Dryer ^ that a farm 
well in southwestern Lagrange County may enter black shale at 150 
feet. 

Individual wells. — On the strong morainic belt in the northwest 
part of the county the sharpest knolls are usually made up of gravel 
and sand, but those of gentler contour often contain till. The wells 
vary greatly in depth, some being but 15 or 20 feet, while others are 
50 to 75 or more. On the overwash gravel plain south of this moraine 
wells are obtained in gravel at about 20 feet. 

In a feeble moraine on the north side of Little Elkhart River, in the 
western part of the county, the wells are usually about 30 feet in 
depth; after penetrating 10 to 20 feet of till they enter sand. South 
of Little Elkhart River the wells are mainly through till. The aver- 
age depth is 30 or 40 feet, but occasional wells reach 60 feet. 

In the gravel plain along Little Elkhart River the wells are usually 
but 12 to 20 feet in depth, entirely through gravel and sand. 

At Lagrange wells are obtained at about 100 feet at the city water- 
works, but private wells seldom exceed 40 feet. The detailed record 

1 See Eighteenth Ann. Rept. Indiana Geol. Survey, p. 81. 



26 WELLS OF NORTHERN INDIANA. [no. 21. 

of four of the waterworks wells, published by Dr. Dryer,^ show alter- 
nations of sand and gravel with till, in which the thickest beds are 
but 20 to 25 feet. In well No. 1, 92 feet in depth, the gravel beds 
amount to 32 feet, the thickest bed being 12 feet in the upper part of 
the section. In well No. 2, 102 feet in depth, the gravel and sand 
amount to 47 feet, of which 17 feet occur at the bottom of the well. 
In well No. 3, 9^ feet in depth, the sand and gravel amount to 34 
feet. In well No. 4, 111 feet in depth, the sand and gravel amount 
to 33 feet. These wells are within the area of an ordinary town lot, 
and yet Dr. Dryer reports that the majority of strata can not be cor- 
related in any two of them. In well No. 1 there are 6 beds of gravel; 
in wells Nos. 2-4, but 5 beds of sand and gravel. 
A well near the jail at Lagrange penetrates — 

Feet. 

1. Yellowtill _ 8 

2. Drysand... : 30 

3. Gravel with water 2 

Total _ - - - 40 

A prospect boring for artesian water at the jail penetrated — 

Feet. 

1. Yellowtill _ - 15 

2. Blue till, with thin beds of sand 50 

3. A brown mold or soil _ 4 

4. Cemented gravel. . 5 

5. Loose gravel with water _ 8 

6. Blue till - ". --.- 45 

7. Cemented gravel _-. -_ — 8 

8. Dry sand and gravel 70 

Total- - _ 205 

The boring was abandoned without obtaining a flow or reaching 
rock strata. 

A well on a sharp morainic ridge about 4 miles east of Lagrange, 
202 feet in depth, failed to find water. Another well on the same farm 
obtained water at 175 feet. Both wells were mainly through till. A 
neighboring well, only 62 feet in depth, obtained water in gravel 
below till at about 60 feet. 

A well for Dr. Drake, one-half mile north of Valentine, has the 
following section: 

Feet. 

1. Sandy yellow till _ 10 

2. Blue till _ - .....-- 41 

3. Gravel with inflammable gas -.. 3 

4. Blue clay 46 

5. Black muck with leaves and inflammable gas ._. 6 

6. Soft blue clay , 24 

7. Water-bearing sand, coarse at bottom 10 

Total 140 

1 Eighteenth Ann. Kept. Indiana Geol. Survey, pp. 80-81. 



LEVERETT.] STEUBEN COUNTY. 27 

A well in the southeast part of the county, one-half mile east of 
South Milford, penetrates — 

Feet. 

1. Sandy yellow tilL _ _ 20 

2. Blue till _ 49 

3. Very fine sand 20 

Total __ _ 89 

A similar fine sand was found in the well at Joseph Ryer's, 4 miles 
north of Wolcottville, at 30 to 108 feet from the surface. 

A well in the west part of Milford Township, 3 miles north of county 
line, 97 feet in depth, is largely through sand, gravel, and cobble. 

In the vicinity of Pretty Lake and Long Lake, in Milford Township, 
in the southeast part of the county, there are gravel plains on which 
wells obtained Water at 30 or 40 feet without reaching the bottom of 
the gravel. On bordering districts wells usually penetrate 25 to 40 
feet of till before reaching a water-bearing gravel. 

Dr. Dryer reports the occurrence of coal in the drift beds in the 
southwest part of the county at depths of 76 feet in two neighboring 
wells under which beds of water-bearing gravel occur. A boring on 
a neighboring farm is thought to strike shale at 150 feet. 

STEUBEN COUNTY. 

General statement. — Steuben County is situated in the extreme 
northeast corner of the State, having Michigan on its northern and 
Ohio on its eastern boundary. On its western border is Lagrange 
and on its southern border Dekalb County. Its area is about 330 
square miles. The entire county, except a valley in its southeast 
corner, stands above the 900-foot contour, and a portion of it rises 
above 1,100 feet, with occasional points 1,150 feet or more. It is 
estimated that at least one-half of the county stands above the 1,000- 
foot contour. The great elevation of this county is not due to an 
elevated rock surface, but to the heavy accumulations of drift. Its 
western half is occupied by the great interlobate moraine formed 
between the Erie lobe and the Saginaw lobe. 

The topography of the western half of the county is of the knob- 
and-basin type, and several lakes are inclosed among the morainic 
knolls and ridges. These lakes have the advantage of beautiful 
scenery, pure water, and an excellent stock of fish. They are justly 
the pride of the inhabitants of the county. The largest lake, James 
Lake, has a length of 5 miles and an average width of half a mile. 
It is situated near the north line of the county and surrounded by 
sharp morainic knolls, which rise in places to a height of more than 
100 feet above its surface. About this lake is a group of smaller 
ones, among which Jimerson, Crooked, Loon, Center, and Gage lakes 
are worthy of mention. These lakes are all tributary to Fawn River 
and discharge northwestward. South of them is a chain of lakes, 



28 WELLS OF NORTHERN INDIANA. [no. 21. 

which are traversed by Pigeon River. Pleasant Lake, the most con- 
spicuous of these lakes, is about 1 mile in length and one-fourth 
mile in average width. Below this lake the stream passes through 
Golden Lake and Hogback Lake, the latter receiving its name from 
a precipitous ridge of bowlders and gravel which stands on its shore. 
In the extreme southwestern part of the county is another chain of 
lakes drained by Turkey Creek, a south tributary of Pigeon River. 
The largest of these. Big Turkey, has a length of about 2^ miles and 
a maximum width of one-half mile. 

A moraine of the Lake Erie lobe traverses the eastern part of the 
county in a north to south direction. This has gentler contours than 
the interlobate moraine, but incloses several lakelets among its 
knolls and ridges. The most conspicuous are Clear Lake, in the 
northeast corner of the county, having an area of about 2 square 
miles, and Fish Lake, in the southeast corner, having an area of a 
little more than 1 square mile. These lakes are tributary to the 
St. Joseph-of-the-Maumee River. A detailed discussion of the sev- 
eral lakes just mentioned, with observations on the size, depth, and 
character of their bottoms, is presented by Dr. Dryer in his report 
on Steuben County. ^ To this report the writer is indebted for the data 
concerning the dimensions of the lakes. It is suggested by Dr. Dryer 
that the city of Fort Wayne could find no better source of water 
supply than these lakes in the southern part of Steuben Countj^ 

The only level land in the county of notable extent is found in a 
narrow plain lying between the interlobate moraine and the Erie 
moraine just mentioned. It has a breadth of 2 to 5 miles and extends 
the entire length of the county. 

The valleys of Fawn River, Pigeon River, Turkey Creek, and Fish 
Creek traverse gravelly districts, in which wells may be obtained at 
comparatively slight depth. The interlobate moraine varies greatly 
in the constitution of its drift and in the depth at which water may be 
obtained. Wells are not, however, as a rule, difficult to obtain, their 
average depth being not more than 30 or 40 feet. On the Erie moraine, 
in the eastern part of the county, and also on the plain west of it, the 
drift is largely a compact till, and the wells are not infrequently put 
down to a depth of 100 feet or more. 

So far as known no wells in the countj'^ have reached rock, but the 
greatest ascertained depths are not more than 160 to 175 feet. 

Individual wells. — Wells in the vicinity of Angola present much 
variety in material penetrated. Immediately north of the city is a 
small district where they obtain water at depths of 20 or 30 feet. Some 
wells in the city also obtain water at slight depth after penetrating a 
few feet of till. Several wells are put down to depths of 80 to 100 feet 

1 Seventeenth Ann. Rept, Indiana Geol. Survey, 1891, pp. 120-134. 



LEVERETT.] DEKALB COUNTY. 29 

or more. A well at the Tri-State Normal College has the following 
section : 

Feet. 

1. Yellow till 20 

2. Blue till- 3 

3. Reddish gravelly clay, with thin beds of sand. 75 

4. Gravel with water 6 

Total 104 

A well on the moraine west of Angola, near Fox Lake, 130 feet deep, 
was mainly in till. A well 3 miles north of Angola, of the same depth, 
was mainly in sand and gravel. On a gravel plain on south side of 
Turkey Lake two wells have a depth of 114 feet, largely through till 
after penetrating a few feet of surface gravel. A well on an elevated 
part of the moraine west of Turkey Lake in section 33, Salem Town- 
ship, 90 feet in depth, was mainly in till. A well 2 miles southeast of 
Salem Center, 160 feet in depth, penetrates yellow or gray till 40 feet, 
below which it was mainly in blue till. 

Near Hudson wells 80 feet in depth penetrate about 30 feet of sand 
and gravel and then enter blue till. A well 3 miles west of Hudson, 
100 feet in depth, was mainly till. 

Wells near Metz, in the eastern part of the county, are frequently 
100 feet in depth, mainly till. One well 2 miles southwest of Metz, 
103 feet in depth, is in till to within 2 to 3 feet of bottom. 

Wells in the vicinity of Fish Lake, in the southeastern part of the 
county, obtain water in gravel at 15 to 25 feet. But within 2 miles 
back from the lake are frequently through till to a depth of 100 feet 
and occasionally 150 feet. 

DEKALB COUNTY. 

General statement. — Dekalb County is situated on the eastern bound- 
ary of the State, immediately south of Steuben. It has an area of 370 
square miles. Its northwestern corner is occupied by the interlobate 
moraine of the Erie and Saginaw lobes. The higher part of the 
moraine rises above the 1,000-foot contour, but its eastern border 
stands only about 900 feet. The greater part of the county is occu- 
pied by a till plain, standing about 850 to 900 feet above tide. In the 
southeastern part, on the borders of the St. Joseph-of-the-Maumee, 
are two moraines of the Erie lobe, but they rise scarcely 25 feet above 
the border plains. 

Over the greater part of the county there is a sheet of till extending 
to an average depth of about 50 feet from the surface, in which water 
is eeldom obtained in large amount. Below this sheet of till the drift 
appears to be very largely sand and gravel and yields an unlimited 
amount of water. There are narrow belts or small areas, usually 
bordering the valleys, in which water may be obtained in gravel or 
&and at comparatively slight depth. 



30 WELLS OF NORTHERN INDIANA. [no. 21. 

The thickness of the drift in this county has been determined at 
four villages, as follows : Butler, 378 feet; Waterloo, 365 feet ; Auburn, 
280 feet; Garrett, 318 feet. A boring in the extreme southeastern 
part of the county, near Spencerville, was carried to a depth of 198 
feet without reaching rock. A boring at Kendall ville, just west of 
this county, penetrated 485 feet of drift. These borings, together 
with the four which strike rock within the county, have sufficiently 
wide distribution to justify the interpretation that the drift of the 
county probably averages over 300 feet in thickness, and may possibly 
average 400 feet. The four borings which enter the rock are on a till 
plain which stands more than 100 feet below the elevated north weste'rn 
portion of the county. The rock floor in but one instance (at Auburn) 
stands above the level of Lake Erie. 

Individual wells. — The gas boring at Butler is reported by Dr. Dryer 
to have the following section : 

Feet. 

1. Hardpan (till) 15 

2. Gravel and coarse sand 275 

3. Red quicksand.. „ .__ _ 40 

4. Compact clay.-. ._ 45 

5. Cobblestones and bowlders _ . 3 

6. Black shale _ 108 

7. Limestone. . ., _ _. _ 1,064 

8. Shale . 500 

9. Trenton limestone penetrated 89 

Total 2,139 

Water in large amount is found in the glacial drift. Salt water was 
struck in the Trenton. 

The water wells in the vicinity of Butler usually obtain their supply 
from depths of 20 to 35 feet, though they are occasionally put down 
to a depth of 150 feet. In the northern part of the county, 6 or 8 miles 
northwest from Butler, wells are through till to a depth of 60 or 80 feet 
before striking water-bearing gravel or sand. The record of a well 3 
miles south of Hudson was also obtained, which penetrated 75 to 80 
feet of till. 

At Waterloo the drift at the gas well is as follows : 

Feet. 

1. Till. _ 40 

2. Sand and gravel with water 270 

3. Blue clay without pebbles .. _. .._ 45 

4. Gravel and cobble .._ 10 

Total 365 

At Auburn two gas wells each penetrate about 280 feet of drift, 
which is largely till in its upper half and largely sand and gravel in 
lower half. 

There are occasional shallow flowing wells in the vicinity of Auburn 
on low ground on the border of Cedar Creek, water being obtained 
from the gravel below the till. The head is seldom more than 2 to 5 
feet below the surface in that locality. 



LEVBBETT.] NOBLE COUNTY. 31 

The gas boring at Garrett penetrates about 50 feet of till, beneath 
which is 200 feet or more of sand, with a thin bed of gravel at the 
bottom of the drift. This sand and gravel afford a large amount of 
water. In Garrett water is often obtained at 40 feet, but the wells 
are in some cases 75 to 100 feet. North and west from Garrett there 
are extensive marshes with sandj^ borders, where wells are obtained 
at slight depth without entering the till. 

Along Cedar Creek Valley, in the southern part of Dekalb County, 
water is usually obtained at 30 or 40 feet. The wells penetrate more 
gravel than till, though both are present. 

A well in the southeastern part of the county, near the village of 
St. Joseph, and but a few rods from the bank of the river, 110 feet in 
depth, is mainly through sand and gravel. 

A well on the farm of Christian Hirsh, east of St. Joseph River, near 
Spencerville, has the following section: 

Feet. 

1. Yellowtill. 10 

2. Bluetill .-- 59 

3. Fine sand 120 

4. Gravel 9 

Total _ 198 

In that neighborhood there are perhaps a dozen other wells 60 to 
100 feet in depth, mainly through till. 

NOBLE COUNTY. 

General statement. — Noble Countj^ is situated immediately east of 
Dekalb and has an area of 420 square miles. The entire county 
has a morainic topography, the greater part of it being the inter- 
lobate moraine of the Erie and Saginaw lobes. In the northwestern 
part of the county the Saginaw moraines branch off from the inter- 
lobate belt, while in the southeastern part an Erie moraine is parallel 
to and closely associated with the interlobate belt. 

The portion of the county occupied by the interlobate moraine 
includes many lakes, some of which have an area of 1 to 2 miles or 
more each. The most important ones are Crooked, Tippecanoe, and 
Loon lakes, in the southern part of the country, which constitute the 
head waters of Tippecanoe River. There are several in the northern 
part of the county and in the adjacent portion of Lagrange County, 
constituting the head waters of Elkhart River. A few in the west- 
ern part of the county are also tributary to Elkhart River. These 
lakes are usually bordered by extensive marshes, though in a few 
cases morainic knolls and ridges rise from their immediate borders. 
Those in the southern part of the county tributary to Tippecanoe 
River have less marshy borders than the lakes tributary to the Elkhart, 
and the morainic hills in that portion of the county also rise more 
prominently above the lake basins than in the northern or western 
portion of the county. While the beauty of scenery does not equal 



32 WELLS OF NORTHERN INDIANA. [no. 21. 

that around the lakes of Steuben County, the quality of the water is 
excellent and the lakes are well stocked with fish. 

Except in the southeastern portion of the county wells are usually 
obtained at moderate depths, seldom exceeding 50 feet. The inter- 
lobate moraine and the Saginaw moraines connected with it contain 
usually a large amount of sand and gravel with the till. The Erie 
moraine, on the southeast border of the county, has much less sand 
and gravel associated with it, and in consequence many wells need 
to be sunk to a depth of 100 feet or more. 

The thickness of the drift is known at three points, Ligonier, Ken- 
dallville, and Albion. At Kendallville it is 485 feet and at Albion 
375 feet, but at Ligonier it is only 169 feet. It seems probable that 
the average thickness of the drift for the county may equal that at 
Albion. 

Individual wells. — The following detailed record of the drift pene- 
trated at Albion was kept by Prof. W. B. Yan Gorder, of that city: 

Feet. 

1. Yellow clay 10 

2. Blue clay. 10 

3. Sand and gravel 115 

4. Blueclay 20 

5. Sand and gravel, with streaks of blue clay _ _ 52 

6. Sand and gravel __ _ _. 81 

7. Blue clay, with thin beds of sand _ __ 52 

8. Gravel 5 

9. Red bowlder clay _ 15 

10. Sand. 5 

11. Slate (?) 1 

12. Sand 9 



Total 375 

The water wells at Albion are usually obtained at 60 to 100 feet in 
the sand and gravel below the upper sheet of till. They penetrate 
from 15 to 30 feet of till at the surface. The underlying sand is either 
too fine or contains too little water in its upper portion to supply the 
wells. 

The drift at the Kendallville gas- well boring (485 feet), specimens 
of which were preserved in a glass tube, appears to be mainly sand 
and gravel below a depth of 20 feet, A record of a water well in this 
village near the gas well was furnished by the driller, J. Hart, and is 
as follows : 

Feet. 

1. Yellow till 10 

2. Dry sand 15 

3. Sand, with some gravel, but little water 50 

4. Soft blue till... 29 

5. Gravel, with large amount of water 4 

Total 108 



I.EVERETT.] NOBLE COUNTY. 33 

A still deeper well at Dr. Mayer's residence in Kendallville is 
reported by the driller, Mr. Diebolt, to have the following section : 

Feet. 

1. Surface clay 5 

2. Dry gravel. 20 

3. Water gravel 10 

4. Soft blue clay 25 

5. Water gravel ... _ 20 

6. Hard blue till 70 

7. Softbluetill _... 25 

8. Water gravel 10 

Total 185 

A well at Mr. Henry Mayer's in the east part of Kendallville, 60 
feet in depth, penetrates — 

Feet. 

1. Yellow till 1 _. 28 

2. Blue quicksand _ 26 

3. Ferruginous crust 1 

4. Water gravel 5 

Total... 60 

From these sections it appears that the drift may have considerable 
variability within the limits of the village. 

A well about 3 miles east of Kendallville, in section 1, Allen Town- 
ship, penetrates — 

Feet. 

1. Yellow till. 14 

2. Blue- gray till, with thin beds of sand or gravel. 192 

Total .206 

This well is in the Erie drift above referred to. 

A well 4 miles northeast of Kendallville is reported to penetrate 120 
feet of till, and one in the extreme northeast corner of the county 
75 feet, before obtaining water. 

It is reported by Mr. Diebolt that the blue till of the Erie drift found 
south from Kendallville is much harder to penetrate than the blue till 
of the Saginaw drift found north and west of that village. A well 1 
mile south from Kendallville penetrates — 

Feet. 

1. Yellow till ---- 20 

2. Hard blue till 40 

3. Cemented gravel - 15 

4. Water gravel ._ 10 

Total 85 

A well in section 17, Allen Township, on a prominent drift knoll, is 
177 feet deep, mainly in till. 

Wells in the vicinity of Avilla, and for 5 or 6 miles west from that 
village, are frequently put down to a depth of 90 or 100 feet, mainlj^ 
through till. Several wells in the southeastern part of the county, 

IRR 21 3 



34 WELLS OF NORTHERN INDIANA. [no. 21. 

in Swan and Greene townships, are reported to be mainly through till 
to a depth of 75 to 160 feet. Dug wells, however, are often obtained 
in that region at a depth of 20 to 40 feet from thin beds of sand or 
gravel included in the till. 

In the district southeast and south from Albion records of several 
deep wells were obtained. One near Noblesville, 161 feet in depth, 
was entirely in till. Another in section 11, Greene Township, was 
in till to a depth of 100 feet before striking water-bearing gravel. A 
well in section 35, Jefferson Township, enters gravel below till at 63 
feet. One in section 26, Jefferson Township, penetrates till, with thin 
beds of sand or gravel, to a depth of 102 feet. One in section 16, Jef- 
ferson Township, enters water-bearing gravel at 70 feet. 

Northeast from Albion, in the vicinity of Rome City, one well, 117 
feet in depth, penetrates — 

Feet. 

1. Sand ...: - _. 53 

2. Soft, adhesive blue clay _ 40 

3. Sand and gravel 24 

Total - --. 117 

Another, 122 feet in depth, penetrates — 

Feet. 

1. Yellow till _ 20 

2. Soft blue till- .-. -. _. 45 

3. Quicksand 8 

4. Soft blue till 1 44 

5. Gravel with water _ , __ 5 

Total . 122 

A well in section 23, Wayne Township, 147 feet in depth, penetrates 
till, with thin beds of sand and gravel, its entire depth. Another 
well in the northern part of the same section has a depth of 164 feet 
in similar material. A well in section 27, 117 feet in depth, also has 
a similar section. 

In the vicinity of Brimfield the surface is sandy to a depth of a few 
feet, but wells penetrate a large amount of till. One well, a mile east 
of Brimfield, 60 feet in depth, is mainly in blue till. 

A well near Skinner Lake, 3 miles east of Albion, penetrates — 

Feet. 

1. Yellow till 12 

2. Soft blue till 52 

3. Sand, with water .., .. 4 

Total-. ..-- 68 

In the northwest part of Noble County, near Hawville, wells show a 
variable structure, some being entirely in sand and gravel to a depth 
of 30 or 40 feet, while others are in till to even greater depths before 
striking a water-bearing gravel. 

Wells in the southwestern part of the county usually have 40 to 75 
feet, more generally 75 feet, of till at surface before entering beds 
affording a strong supply of water. 



LEVERETT.] KOSCIUSKO COUNTY. 35 

From Albion west and northwest the drift appears to be largely of 
a gravelly constitution and wells are obtained without penetrating to 
great depth. At Ligonier the depth is about 35 feet. The wells at 
that village usually penetrate 10 to 20 feet of till before entering the 
w^ater-bearing gravel. This gravel is shown by the gas- well boring to 
be 125 feet in depth. There was a large supply of fresh water at 
about 200 feet in the gas boring, 30 feet below the rock surface. 

KOSCIUSKO COUNTY. 

General statement. — Kosciusko County is situated in the middle por- 
tion of the second tier of counties from the north boundary of the 
State, being immediately south of Elkhart County and west of Noble 
Count3^ It has an area of 556 square miles, being exceeded in area 
by only two other counties in the State. 

The eastern and southern portions of the county are situated on the 
interlobate moraine of the Saginaw and Erie lobe, except the extreme 
southeastern portion, which is occupied by a moraine of the Erie lobe 
(the Mississinewa). The northwestern portion of the county, com- 
prising about one-fourth its area, is occupied largely by gravel plains 
and by marshes. It is much lower than the moraine, and yet the 
divide between the Wabash and the Lake Michigan drainage systems 
passes through it. The general elevation of the plain is about 800 feet 
above tide. The moraine stands 900 feet or more in its higher portion. 

Along the interlobate moraine in the eastern portion of the county 
there are numerous lakes, one of which, Turkey Lake, has the dis- 
tinction of being the largest lake in Indiana. The area is probably 
about 8 square miles, its length being fully 6 miles and its width a 
mile or more. There are probably a half dozen other lakes having 
areas of 1 to 2 square miles each, among which may be mentioned 
Wawasee, Tippecanoe, Boydstown, Barbers, Big Eagle, Little Eagle, 
and Pike lakes. These lakes are bordered on one or more sides by 
morainic knolls and ridges, but have usually extensive marshes on other 
sides. Turkey Lake lies on the inner border of a Saginaw moraine 
that leaves the interlobate moraine near the border of Noble and Kos- 
ciusko counties and passes northwestward into Elkhart County. 
Wawasee, Tippecanoe, and Boydstown lakes are situated on the outer 
border of the same moraine. These lakes have a pure supply of water 
and are said to be well stocked with fish. A biological survey of 
Turkey Lake is in progress under the auspices of the State University. 
A few small lakes occur along the interlobate moraine in the southern 
part of the county, among which may be mentioned Yellow Creek, 
Beaver Dam, Silver, and Rock lakes. None of these have an area of 
1 square mile. They lie in the midst of morainic knolls and ridges, 
with but little marshy land on their borders. 

This county is as well favored, perhaps, as any in the State in abun- 
dant supplies of water for wells at shallow depth. On the plain in 
the northwestern portion the wells rarely exceed 40 feet and are 



36 WELLS OF NORTHERN INDIANA. [no. 21. 

usually but 10 to 20 feet in depth. Along the moraine, even in its 
most elevated portion, it is rare to find wells that exceed 40 feet in 
depth. The drift appears to consist more largely of sand and gravel 
than of till, unless it be in the extreme southeastern portion of the 
county occupied by the Erie moraine. 

The thickness of the drift is known only in the vicinity of Warsaw, 
the county seat, where gas-well borings show it to be in one case 247 
and in another 255 feet. A well 3 miles west of Warsaw penetrates 
243 feet of drift. 

Individual luells. — At Milford, on a gravel plain in the northern 
part of the county, the wells have a depth of about 20 feet, entirely 
through gravel and sand. In the vicinity of North Galveston, also on 
the gravel plain, wells enter till below the gravel at about 25 feet. In 
the vicinity of Oswego, also, the bottom of the sand and gravel is 
reached at 25 feet or less. Water is usually obtained at both these 
villages and in the intervening country near the base of the gravel. 
West from North Galveston the plain has a till deposit at the surface, 
being outside the limits of the gravel overwash. But wells usually 
find the water-bearing sand and gravel at 15 or 20 feet. 

On Bone Prairie the wells are in some cases put down to a depth of 
60 feet, largely through till, there being only a slight coating of sur- 
face gravel. 

At Atwood wells range in depth from 8 feet to 40 feet, but usually 
obtain water below yellow till at about 20 feet. 

At Etna Green wells penetrate 20 or 30 feet of till before entering 
water-bearing gravel. 

In the eastern part of the county the wells along the Tippecanoe 
River and southward for a mile or two are only 10 or 12 feet in depth, 
largely in sand. North from the river they penetrate till to a depth 
of 30 to 50 feet. 

On the border of Turkey Lake a well 40 feet deep is reported to have 
penetrated : 

Feet. 

1. Gravel - --. ...-- ---- 13 

2. Till - 28 

3. Water-bearing gravel at bottom. 

In the vicinity of Pierceton wells occasionally penetrate 60 feet or 
more of till. A tubular well 1 mile northeast of Pierceton penetrates 
till about 100 feet. 

At Kosciusko there is a surface gravel several feet in depth, but 
wells usually pass through it and an underlying till into a deeper 
gravel at about 25 feet. 

For 2 to 4 miles east from Warsaw the wells are largely through till 
and have a depth of 18 to 40 feet. 

In the east part of Warsaw a flowing well has been obtained on low 
ground between Pike and Center lakes at a depth of 102 feet. Its 
head is about 4 feet above the surface. At one of the gas- well borings 



LEVERETT.] MARSHALL COUNTY. 37 

in Warsaw there is also a flow of water discharging rapidly from a 
7-inch pipe at a height of 2 feet above the surface. As it contains 
much sulphureted hydrogen, it is probable that a portion of the water 
is from the rock strata. The overflow is probably caused from acces- 
sion of water from the drift. In both the gas- well borings at Warsaw 
the drift is largely sand, tilled with water. 

In the western portion of the county, south from the Tippecanoe 
River, in the vicinity of Clay pool, Burkett, and Mentone, wells 
usually penetrate 25 to 40 feet or more of till and occasionally 60 feet. 

MARSHALL COUNTY. 

General statement. — Marshall County is situated west of Kosciusko 
County, in the middle portion of the second tier of counties from the 
north boundary of the State. It has an area of 440 square miles. 

The prominent Maxinkuckee moraine leads through the western 
range of townships from south to north. It also swings southeastward 
near the southern boundary of the county and has its inner border 
within the limits of Marshall County as far east as the Tippecanoe 
River. This moraine constitutes the principal topographic feature 
of the county, the remainder of the county being a gently undulating 
plain, with occasional slight ridging of the drift. 

Lake Maxinkuckee, from which the moraine takes its name, is 
situated in the southwestern township of the county and is sur- 
rounded by a series of morainic knolls and ridges, which add to the 
attractiveness of its scenery. The lake occupies perhaps 2 square 
miles, and its maximum depth is 76 feet. A large number of springs 
occur on its borders, and its water is remarkably clear and pure. 
The lake is said to abound in fish. On the borders of the lake several 
clubhouses have been built by Indianapolis, Peru, Plymouth, and 
other clubs, and summer cottages are numerous along its shore. 

Along the border of the lake several flowing wells have been 
obtained, which rise to a height of 12 to 30 feet above the lake sur- 
face. The first well driven was only 13 feet in depth. Several have 
a depth of but 20 or 25 feet. Others are put down to a depth of 50 
to 75 feet. One well has a depth of 160 feet, and one reached a depth 
of 203 feet. There appear to be several water horizons, but the head 
is no greater from the deep wells than from the shallow ones, and the 
upper horizon is as strong as any. 

Two other prominent localities for obtaining flowing wells are 
found in this county, one being along Yellow River, in the vicinity 
of Plymouth, the other along Yellowbank Creek, in the vicinity of 
Teegarden. Those in the vicinity of Plymouth are usually but 
40 or 50 feet. Those in the vicinity of Teegarden are 40 to 100 feet. 
In all cases the flowing wells are from beds of sand or gravel beneath 
a sheet of till. 

The bottom of the drift has, so far as known to the writer, been 



38 WELLS OF NORTHERN INDIANA. [no. 21. 

reached in but one locality, Plymouth, the county seat, where a gas 
boring entered rock at 242 feet. 

Individual wells. — On the head waters of Yellow River, near Bremen, 
in the northeastern part of the county, wells are usually but 12 to 20 
feet in depth and penetrate mainly sand and gravel. 

At Bremen, however, there is a small ridge of till on which the 
average depth of wells is about 40 feet. One well in the west part of 
the village is 100 feet in depth, mainly blue till. 

Wells at Inwood are mainly through sand and gravel, though pene- 
trating thin beds of clay ; the depth ranges from 20 to 50 feet. Between 
Inwood and Plymouth the usual depth is about 35 feet, water being 
obtained in sand or gravel below till. 

The gas well at Plymouth has the following section of drift: 

Feet. 

1. Sand and gravel 40 

2. Till _ 50 

3. Mainly sand and gravel. 150 

Total.. . 240 

Flowing wells in the vicinity of Plymouth are obtained in a narrow 
belt, scarcely 40 rods in width, along the Yellow River bottoms. They 
usually penetrate several feet of sand at the surface, below which are 
alternations of till with sand beds. The best flow is obtained at a depth 
of 42 to 45 feet. 

The flowing wells along Yellowbank Creek are found for 2 or 3 
miles west from Teegarden. They penetrate much blue till before 
reaching a water vein. The water horizon appears to vary greatly in 
depth in the several wells, there being a range from 40 feet to about 
100 feet. 

In the southern part of the county, on the plain east and north from 
the Maxinkuckee moraine, water is usually obtained at 10 to 20 feet. 
At Tippecanoe Station, on the borders of Tippecanoe River, the depth 
is but 10 or 15 feet. In the north part of Walnut Township, where 
the surface is sandy and poorly drained, wells seldom exceed 10 feet 
in depth. In portions of Walnut Township, although surface bowlders 
abound as in till tracts, yet the underlying deposits are mainly sand, 
and wells are found at depths of 10 to 20 feet. 

The deepest of the flowing wells at Lake Maxinkuckee is at the resi- 
dence of D. W. Morman. At the time of the writer's visit the water 
scarcely reached the surface, 20 feet above the level of the lake. Of 
the 203 feet penetrated, fully 90 per cent is thought to have been till, 
the sand beds being but a few feet in thickness. 

Messrs. Thompson and Lee, in their report on Marshall County,^ 
note two wells on the northeast shore which have a head 31 feet above 

1 Fifteenth Ann. Rept. Indiana Gaol. Survey, pp. 183-186- 



LEVERETT.] STARKE COUNTY. 39 

the surface of the lake. The wells are each 72 feet in depth and have 
the following section : 

Feet. 

1. Soil and yellow clay _. .., 8 

2. Sand 14 

3. Blue clay 38 

4. Sand and gravel . 13 

Total 72 

A short distance east from these wells the head in a well 50 feet in 
depth is but 19 feet above the lake. The well at the Peru Clubhouse, 
t)n the east side of the lake, was bored to a depth of 160 feet and 
obtained ©nly a weak flow. At the Indianapolis Clubhouse a good 
flow was obtained at only 27 feet. At the Highland House a well 33 
feet in depth entered water-bearing sand at a depth of 13 feet. Near 
the Highland House D. W. Morman, of Indianapolis, has several wells. 
Four of them, averaging about 22 feet in depth, are estimated to have 
a combined discharge of 15 barrels per minute. These wells feed a 
ram which supply the grounds with water. Mr. Morman also has a 
deeper well, with the following section, in which the flow is obtained 
from the sand above the blue clay: 

Feet. 

1. Yellow clay 11 

2. Sand -.-. 25 

3. Blueclay 62 

Total - 98 

STARKE COUNTY. 

General statement. — Starke County is situated on the eastern border 
of the head of the Kankakee marsh, in the northwestern part of the 
State. Its area is about 300 square miles. It is a much lower district 
than Marshall County on the east, and the surface is covered by sand 
dunes or marshes, except in the southeast portion, where a small till 
plain occurs which is nearly free from sand. Underneath the sand, 
throughout the inhabited portion of the county, a blue till is often 
found at depths of 10 to 40 feet, but wells are usually obtained in 
the sand above the till. 

A boring at North Judson, for the purpose of obtaining natural 
gas, shows the drift to have a thickness of 198 feet. A gas boring at 
Knox also penetrated a large amount of drift, but the precise depth 
at which rock is struck has not been ascertained. In both borings 
till is entered below the sand at a slight depth and constitutes the 
main part of the drift. 

Individual wells. — At Knox, the county seat, wells are obtained at 
various depths, ranging from 14 up to 40 feet, the deeper ones being 
on sand ridges and the shallow ones on low ground among the ridges. 
At the gas- well boring at Knox the water rose nearly to the level of 



40 WELLS OF NORTHERN INDIANA. [no. 21. 

the surface, but the pipes have been withdrawn and the well aban- 
doned. Some of the shallower wells are very liable to contamination. 

At North Judson the water is obtained near the base of the sand 
at depths of 16 to 30 feet, the deeper wells being on sand ridges. 
There appears to be a liability to contamination of water in this village. 

A boring at the north end of Cedar Lake, in the southeastern part 
of the county, is reported to have the following section: 

Feet. 

1. Sand _ 5 

2. Blueclay 9^ 

8. Sand and gravel _ . .._ _. 3* 

4. Blue clay ._ 18 

• 

Total 35i 

Cedar Lake is said to have a depth of 34 feet, with bowlder clay at 
bottom.^ 

Near the east border of the county several wells have been put 
down to depths of 30 to 100 feet, mainly through till. The deepest 
one (at Mr. Pette's, in sec. 24, T. 32, R. 1 W.), about 100 feet in depth, 
has the following section : 

Feet. 

1. Yellow till 10 to 12 

2. Blue till 16 

3. Gray sand 52 

4. Blue clay 4 

5. Cemented sand and gravel 15 

Total 97 to 99 

A mile north from Mr. Pette's, at David Fetter's, a well penetrates — 

Feet. 

1. Sandy till. 5 

2. Blue till.... _ 12 

3. Quicksand.. .., 5 

4. Blue till 30 

Total _.. 52 

NEWTON COUNTY. 

General statement. — Newton County is situated on the west border 
of the State, immediately south of Kankakee River. It has an area 
of about 400 square miles. The northern third of the county falls 
within the limits of the Kankakee marsh and the sandy ridges which 
form the southern border. The central portion of the county is occu- 
pied by a moraine 3 to 5 miles in width, which leads across it from 
west to east. This moraine rises from 50 to 75 feet above the bor- 
dering plains on either side and has a gently undulating surface. 
South from the moraine is a plain traversed by the Iroquois River, 
which extends southward beyond the limits of the county. 

In the sandy northern portion of the county wells were, in the early 
days of settlement, put down to a slight depth and obtained their 
water in the sand; but within the past few years they have been 

1 Fifteenth Ann. Rept. Indiana Geol. Survey, p. 234. 



LEVERETT.] NEWTON COUNTY. 41 

sunk to depths of 50 to 100 feet or more, through a sheet of blue till 
which underlies the sand, to beds of sand and gravel which furnish a 
better quality of water than that in the surface sand. Along the 
morainic ridge wells are usually obtained in the glacial drift, but 
have occasionally been put down in the underlying rock. The dis- 
tance to rock is 100 to 150 feet or more. The best wells on the 
moraine are deep ones, extending nearly to the base of the drift. 
The moraine appears to be composed of a nearly solid bed of till. In 
the plain south of the moraine many wells are sunk 75 to 100 feet or 
more to obtain a better supply of water than is afforded at shallower 
depths. On the immediate borders of the Iroquois River wells reach 
a depth of 100 feet without entering rock, but in the southern portion 
of the county rock is often entered at 25 feet or less. The rock 
surface appears to be generally much higher on the southern borders 
of the county than in the district north from the Iroquois River. 

Individual wells. — Records of several deep wells in this county are 
presented in the Twelfth Annual Report of the State Geologist, and 
are also given below: 

Twelve wells, bored by Ilyer Brothers, in and near Kentland, pen- 
etrated, on an average, the beds named below: 

Feet. 

1. Soil.... 2 

3. Yellow clay 10 

3. Blue glacial clay. - .._ 45 

4. Sharp sand 2 

Total , - - 59 

Water rises to within 18 or 20 feet of the surface. 
The well at the public square in Kentland obtained a flow of water 
at 300 feet and penetrated the following strata : 

Feet. 

1. Glacial deposits.. '. 150 

2. Blackslate 73 

3. Devonian limestone 25 

4. Upper Silurian limestone - 120 

Total - --- - - 368 

At Kent's warehouse, in Kentland, an unsuccessful boring for water 
penetrated : 

Feet. 

1. Glacial deposits... --- - 82 

2. Blackslate. 80 

Total.. 162 

A well at Alexander Kent's, 1 mile northeast of Kentland, 320 feet 
in depth, penetrated 182 feet of drift. A well on his farm, 4 miles 
northeast of Kentland, found only 50 feet of glacial drift and obtained 
water in limestone at 53 feet. A well on another farm, 2 miles south- 
west of Kentland, struck limestone at 50 feet and there obtained 
water. 



42 WELLS OF NORTHERN INDIANA. [no. 21. 

At Mr. Brush's, 3 miles southwest of Kentland, a flowing well has 
the following section: 

Feet. 

1. Soil and yellow clay 9 

2. Sand and gravel 4 

3. Blueclay _ 68 

4. Hardpan gravel 4 

5. Limestone _ 1 

Total _ ..86 



Another flowing well was obtained at Mr. Drake's, sec. 25, T. 27, 
R. 9 W., 3 miles east of Kentland. After penetrating 33 feet of till 
it enters a bed of sand and gravel, from which the flow is obtained. 

Several flowing wells have been obtained in the Iroquois Valley on 
the overflow plain of the river. An average section of several of these 
wells, furnished by David McKenzie, their driller, is as follows: 

Feet. 

1. Soil and sand 14 to 17 

2. Blueclay 30 

3. Hardpan gravel _. 5 

4. Blue sand with flow of water 4 

Total .- 58 to 56 

A well near the State line west of Kentland, reported by Mr. 
McKenzie, penetrates — 

Feet. 

1. Soil 3 

2. Yellowclay 6 

3. Blue glacial clay _ 25 

4. Blue glacial clay with partings of sand _ .. 46 

5. Gravel and fine sand - .- 3 

Total.- 83 

A well on Mr. Peterson's farm, near the State line, in sec. 11, T. 28, 
R. 10 W. , on a high part of the moraine, referred to above, penetrates 
168 feet of drift without reaching the rock. Mr. McKenzie reports 
the following section : 

Feet. 

1. Soil and yellow clay _ --- 6 

2. Blue bowlder clay _ _ - 154 

3. Fine gravel and sand with water. .- 8 

Total. - - 168 

An.almost identical series was found at Mr. Besicker's, in the adjoin- 
ing section on the south, where a well 171 feet in depth was in till to 
a depth of 165 feet before striking water-bearing strata. 

About 5 miles northwest from Kentland, in sec. 13, T. 27, R. 10 W., 
four wells on the farm of Mr. J. V. Speck are reported to have passed 
through a brown swamp muck at the bottom of the till, about 80 feet 
below the surface, beneath which there was water-bearing sand and 
gravel. 



LEVEBETT.] NEWTON COUNTY. 43 

At Morocco a boring at the Creamery penetrated 127 feet of till, at 
which depth limestone was entered. 

Several wells near the range line east of Morocco, on the north 
slope of the moraine, enter rock at 110 to 120 feet, after penetrating 
a solid bed of till. 

At Mount Ayer, also on the moraine, near the eastern border of the 
county, many wells gel a good supply of water in gravel at 30 or 35 
feet, but a few have been put down to depths of 140 to 160 feet. Mr. 
Ashby's well penetrated 120 feet of drift and 20 feet of rock, as fol- 
lows: 

Feet. 

1. Yellow till -- 10 

2. Blue sand ..- - --- 20 

3. Blue till _.. - 90 

4. Blue shale... ..- 20 

5. Hard flint rock at bottom. 

Total 140 

Mr. Lewis Marion's well in the southwest part of the village strikes 
shale at 139 feet. W. J. Young's well strikes shale at about 150 feet, 
and a hard rock at 1 62 feet. The drift is mainly till. 

In the vicinity of Brooke a soft till is penetrated to a depth of 50 or 
60 feet, below which there is a harder till, extending either to the rock 
or to water-bearing beds. Several wells between Brooke and the east 
line of the county overflow when on the low bottoms of the Iroquois 
River, and rise nearly to the surface on the plain that borders the 
river. Their depth ranges from 80 feet up to 120 feet or more. Rock 
is usually struck at 100 to 120 feet. The following section at J. B. 
Lyon's, 1 mile north of Brooke, will illustrate the structure: 

Feet. 

1. Yellow till - 10 

2. Blue sand, very fine 5 

3. Soft blue till ., _.. 55 

4. Blue-brown till 36 

Total.. , 106 

Rock was struck at 106 feet. Water stands 12 feet below the surface. 

In the southwest part of T. 27, R. 8 W., and southeast part of 
T. 27, R. 9 W., near the south line of the county, several wells strike 
rock at 40 or 50 feet or less, and there are occasional outcrops of the 
Lockport (often called Niagara) limestone in low knolls rising a few 
feet above the level of the bordering plain. Eastward from there to 
Goodland the drift appears to be generally thin. Rock is struck at 
about 20 feet. The wells which obtain their water from the Lockport 
limestone, in thg southern part of the county, often reach a depth of 
250 to 300 feet, and obtain a water charged with sulphureted hydrogen. 

A natural gas boring at Kentland, 1,325 feet in depth, obtained a 
sulphurous water with head 45 feet below the surface. It supplies the 
waterworks. 



44 WELLS OF NORTHERN INDIANA. [no. 21. 

JASPER COUNTY. 

General statement. — Jasper County is situated in the northwestern 
part of the State, immediately east of Newton County and south of 
the Kankakee marsh. Its area is 570 square miles, the second county 
in area in the State. Like Newton County, its northern third is cov- 
ered by the Kankakee marsh and by sand ridges that form the south 
border of the marsh. Its central portion is traversed by a continua- 
tion of the moraine that passes eastward across Newton County. Its 
southern portion is a plain covered quite extensively with sand, which 
in places is drifted into dunes. 

In the northern part of the county the drift deposits are 75 to 200 
feet in depth, but in the central and southern portions, although the 
altitude is as great as in the northern portion, the drift deposits are 
generally quite thin, there being often only a coating of sand 10 to 20 
feet in depth. In some wells in the northern part of the countj^ (cited 
below) a hard till is found below the soft Wisconsin till which is 
probably Illinoian drift. 

Individual wells. — On the borders of the Kankakee marsh, in the 
northern part of the county, wells are usually obtained at slight depth 
in the sand deposits. But upon approaching the moraine in the cen- 
tral portion of the county the sand has insufficient depth to afford 
good water, and wells are accordingly sunk to beds of sand and gravel 
beneath the till. 

Two wells at Surrey enter rock at about 90 feet. They are mainly 
through till. Several borings for gas 2 or 3 miles north of Surrey, on 
the edge of the sandy ridges, strike rock at 80 or 90 feet. The drift is 
mainly till. 

On the crest of the moraine southeast of Surrey a well at Charles 
Coen's, sec. 12, T. 29, R. 7 W., strikes rock at 192 feet, and there 
obtains water. A well at William Nowel's, in the same section, 
strikes rock at 140 feet and obtains water at 162 feet. In both wells 
the drift is mainly till. 

In sec. 30, T. 30, R. 6 W., on the north border of the moraine, a 
well at Jacob Ush's obtains water at 146 feet without striking rock. 
Another at George Marcum's obtains water at 130 feet. In both wells 
a soft till is penetrated for about 90 feet, below which is a hard till, 
extending to the water-bearing sand and gravel. At J. S. Williams's, 
a short distance north from the wells just mentioned, a well was 
obtained at the bottom of the soft till at a depth of 97 feet. 

A well in a low, marshy tract in sec. 15, T. 30, R. 6 W., enters rock 
at about 75 feet. 

A well on the moraine in sec. 13, T. 30, R. 5 W., penetrates 102 
feet of drift, mainly blue till. Another well in the same section pen- 
etrates 80 feet. A well at Mr. Osborne's, in section 1 of the same 
township, has 126 feet of drift, and one at Mr. Rayburn's, in section 



LEVERETT.] JASPER COUNTY. 45 

2, 118 feet. In all these wells the water is obtained at slight depth in 
the underlying rock. 

On the plain north of the moraine, in sec. 27, T. 31, R. 5 W., a well 
at James Gill's enters rock at 47 feet, after penetrating considerable 
till. 

Passing southward near the east side of the county to the south 
border of the moraine, the rock is found to rise within a few feet of 
the surface. Wells in sec. 3, T. 29, R. 5 W., penetrate but 5 to 15 
feet of drift. This region of thin drift extends southward beyond the 
limits of the county and westward to Rensselaer. Some of the wells 
obtain their water without entering the rock, but a large number are 
carried a few feet into the rock. 

Immediately west of Rensselaer the rock surface suddenly drops 
down 75 or 100 feet or more, so that wells are 80 to 150 feet in drift. 
For example, a well on the south border of the moraine, in sec. 29, 
T. 29, R. 7 W., enters rock at 143 feet. A well on the plain south of 
the Iroquois River, in sec. 3, T. 28, R. 7 W. , enters rock at about 80 
feet. The rock surface continues low for several miles south from 
the Iroquois River, in the western part of the county, and wells are 
often 50 to 75 feet in depth without entering the rock. 

In the southern half of T. 27, R. 7 W., the rock surface rises to 
a greater altitude than in the vicinity of Rensselaer. Although the 
general elevation is about 50 feet higher than at Rensselaer and the 
portion of the county east from that city, the wells in this southern 
end of the county often enter rock at 10 to 20 feet. 

At Remington the dug wells are usually 12 to 20 feet in depth, 
obtaining water near the base of the drift. The drilled wells are 75 to 
125 feet in depth. Robert Parker's well, 125 feet in depth, has the 
following section : 

Feet. 

1. Drift. _.. 18 

2. Shale. .„.. 95 to 100 

3. Solid stone, probably limestone 8 to 10 

Total 125 

The water rises from this depth within 18 feet of the surface. It 
contains sulphureted hydrogen in small amount. 

Wells for water in the vicinity of Rensselaer range in depth from 
30 feet to 200 feet. They enter rock at 6 to 15 feet. On the low 
ground along the river several of them have head sufficient to over- 
flow, but at the general level of the town the water rises only within 
5 or 6 feet of the surface. A gas- well boring at Rensselaer was car- 
ried to a depth of 1,275 feet, but the boring is not utilized, although a 
sulphurous water rises to the surface. This water is probably from 
the Lockport limestone, as in the water wells of the vicinity. 



46 WELLS OF NORTHERN INDIANA. [no. 21. 

PULASKI COUNTY. 

General statement — Pulaski County is situated in the northwestern 
part of the State, immediately east of Jasper and south of Stark 
County. Its area is 430 square miles. Like Stark County, Pulaski 
is almost entirely occupied by sand ridges and marshes, there being 
only small areas of cultivable land free from sand, found chiefly on 
the eastern and southern borders of the countj^ Although it occu- 
pies the divide between the Kankakee, a tributary of the Illinois, and 
the Tippecanoe, a tributary of the Wabash, there is no dividing ridge, 
and large tracts in the northwestern part of the county might be 
drained with equal readiness to either stream. No adequate drainage 
lines have been developed in the portion of the county west from the 
Tippecanoe River. The portion east from the river is much better 
drained. 

Individual wells. — In the northwestern portion of the county large 
areas have never been settled. On the tracts which are cultivated 
wells are usually obtained at 20 to 40 feet or less without reaching 
the bottom of the sand. In the southwestern portion of the county 
the drift deposits are very thin, and wells usually enter rock at 10 to 
20 feet. At Medaryville, however, a well at the tile factory penetrates 
92 feet of drift and obtains its water supply from the rock at 115 to 
120 feet. 

In the eastern part of the county wells are usually obtained at 
shallow depths, either in the sand or in beds of sand and gravel 
associated with the till. 

At Winamac, the county seat, the wells often reach a depth of 50 
to 60 feet. They pass through 10 to 25 feet of sand, or a sandy clay 
loam, below which is a bed of blue till, extending to the water-bearing 
gravel. The drift at this point is 110 feet in thickness. The gas- 
well boring, 1,200 feet in depth, obtains a flow of water estimated at 45 
gallons per minute. The horizon at which the water was found has 
not been ascertained. 

FULTON COUNTY. 

General statement. — Fulton County is situated near the middle of 
the third tier of counties from the north boundary of the State, imme- 
diately east of Pulaski and south of Marshall County. It has an area 
of 380 square miles. 

The surface is verj^ diversified. In the western portion there is a 
till plain on which occasional drift ridges and knolls occur, and also a 
few sand ridges. Along the northern boundary there is the Maxin- 
kuckee moraine, and in the eastern and southeastern portions the 
western slope of a bulky moraine formed by the Erie lobe, which con- 
nects in northeastern Fulton County with the Maxinkuckee moraine 
to form the great Erie-Saginaw interlobate moraine, which, as above 
noted, leads northeastward into Michigan through the northeastern 



L.EVERETT.] 



WHITLEY COUNTY. 47 



part of Indiana. West from the junction of these two moraines there 
is much marsh land with sandy ridges, which is imperfectly drained 
by southern tributaries of Tippecanoe River. 

The thickness of the drift is known at Rochester, in the central 
portion of the county, and at Kewanna, in the western portion. At 
Rochester an artesian well at the court-house has 155 feet of drift, 
while a gas- well boring, 60 rods northeast from the court-house, has 
245 feet. The altitude of the two wells is very nearly the same, and 
in both there are alternations of till with sand and gravel. At 
Kewanna the drift is 167 feet in one well and 208 feet in another. It 
is largel}^ assorted material, but contains beds of blue till. 

Individual ivells. — Very few records of the sections of wells were 
obtained in this county, largeh^ because of their shallowness. The 
great majority of wells are obtained at depths of 20 or 25 feet; In 
many cases at 12 or 14 feet. In the extreme northeast corner of the 
county, however, there is an area of a township or more on the east 
side of the Tippecanoe River where a compact till mak*es it necessary 
to sink wells to a depth of 60 or 80 feet. In one section six wells have 
an average depth of 70 feet. Another place in which wells are some- 
times difficult to obtain is found in the northwest township of the 
connty, in the Maxinkuckee moraine, but here it is rare for a well to 
exceed 60 feet in depth. ' 

^VHITLEY COUNTY. 

General statement. — Whitley County is situated in the northeast- 
ern part of the State, immediately west of Allen and south of Noble 
County. It has an area of 330 square miles. 

The extreme northwestern border of the county is occupied by the 
interlobate Erie-Saginaw moraine. The remaining portion of the 
northwest half of the county is largely occupied hy the Mississinewa 
moraine of the Erie lobe, which closely flanks the interlobate moraine. 
The inner or southeastern border of the Mississinewa moraine is fol- 
low^ed more or less closely by Eel River. The portion of the county 
lying east and south of Eel River is largely plane surfaced, though 
occasional knolls and ridges of drift give it some diversity. 

This county is preeminently a clay county, there being but limited 
areas in which sand or gravel is found at the surface or at slight 
depth. The drift to a depth of 50 to 60 feet or more is usually a com- 
pact till in which only weak wells can be obtained. The most con- 
spicuous exception is a narrow belt along Eel River, scarcely more 
than a mile in width, in which deposits of sand and gravel appear at 
the surface, and strong wells are obtained at slight depth. 

The thickness of the drift is known at Columbia City, the county 
seat, and at Larwell, a village about 10 miles west from Columbia 
City. At Columbia City the gas boring made on low ground near Eel 
River has 224 feet of drift, mainly sand. At Larwell the gas boring 



48 WELLS OF NORTHERN INDIANA. ' [no. 21. 

made on an elevated part of the moraine has 365 feet of drift. At 
this point there is about 100 feet of till at the surface, below which 
the drift is mainly sand and gravel. In both wells large quantities 
of water were obtained before reaching the rock. That at Columbia 
Cit}^ overflows. It is probable that in the extreme southeast corner 
of the county the drift is less than 100 feet. 

Individual wells. — But few records of wells were obtained in this 
county, since the sections appear to differ but little in structure. The 
compact till is reported in the majority of wells in every township of 
the county. Occasionally considerable variety is found in the dis- 
tance to the water beds within the limits of a single village, but as a 
rule no strong wells have been obtained above the general water 
stratum, 50 to 75 feet below the surface. 

At Churubusco, in the extreme northeast part of the county, the 
deepest well is reported to be 80 feet, while several are 50 feet or 
more. 

At Collins, 4 miles southwest of Churubusco, several wells are 75 
or 80 feet, through till. 

At Columbia City, which is situated near the Eel River valley, wells 
often reach the bottom of the till at 30 or 40 feet. 

The deepest water well of which record was obtained is on the plain 
In the southeastern part of the county, and penetrates — 

Feet. 

1. Till 67 

2. Sand and gravel, with beds of till _. 130 

3. Water gravel 5 

Total 202 

ALLEN COUNTY. 

General statement. — Allen County is situated in the northeastern 
part of Indiana, on the east border. Fort Wayne is its county 
seat. It has the distinction of being the largest county in the State, 
having an area of 650 square miles. 

The greater part of the county lias a level surface, though there are 
two well-defined morainic belts which pass through it. The St. Marys 
moraine enters in the southeast part and follows the northeast border 
of the St. Marys River to Fort Wayne. It then finds its continuation 
northward on the east side of the St. Joseph River. The Wabash 
moraine enters the county near Zanesville, in its southwest corner, 
and passes thence northward to the old lake outlet near Aboit. North 
from the outlet its course is northeastward along the northwest side 
of the St. Joseph River. There is a narrow plain in southern Allen 
County between these two moraines, but in northern Allen County 
they are separated only by the valley of the St. Joseph River. A 
plain in the northwestern part of the county extends beyond its limits 
into Dekalb and Whitley counties. The plain in the eastern part of 



LEVERETT.] ALLEN COUNTY. 49 

the county, formerly covered by the glacial lake which discharged 
southwestward to the Wabash, has a very smooth surface, with only 
an occasional low ridge of sand or bar of gravel formed by the lake 
waters. 

In the southern half of the county the thickness of the drift is 
very much less than in the northern half, though probably averaging 
not less than 75 feet. At Fort Wayne it is 60 to 125 feet or more. 
Near the north border of the county the drift exceeds 200 feet, two 
borings having reached that depth without entering rock. In the 
south part of the county it is in places but 20 or 30 feet. 

In this county, as in Whitley, the greater part of the drift pene- 
trated by Avells is a compact till. Wells are, as a rule, more easily 
obtained than in Whitley County. Along the St. Joseph River there 
is a narrow belt of gravelly land. There is also a gravel plain of some 
extent in the northwest part of the county, near Huntertown, which 
connects the gravel deposits of the Cedar Creek valley with the gravel 
belt on Eel River, thus crossing the continental divide between the 
St. Lawrence and the Mississippi basins. It is needless to say that 
there is no ridge along this part of the divide. 

Individual luells. — A well at the court-house in Fort Wayne, sunk 
in 1875 for artesian water, reached a depth of 3,000 feet, but its head 
fell short several feet of coming to the surface, 772 feet above tide. 
The drift at this boring is 88 feet. A boring for natural gas in the old 
lake outlet, north of the St. Marys River in Fort Wayne, at an eleva- 
tion about 750 feet above tide, penetrates 96 feet of drift. One 3 miles 
west, also in the lake outlet, has 90 feet of drift. The waterworks of 
Fort Wayne are supplied from about fifty wells, some being in gravel 
at depths of 40 to 60 feet, others in rock at 250 to 450 feet. Abbott's 
gas-well boring in the eastern part of the city, at an elevation nearly 
800 feet above tide, penetrates 106 feet of drift. In this, as well as 
several other borings in the vicinity of Fort Wayne, the lower portion 
of the drift is found to contain much sand and gravel. In one boring 
near the bank of the Maumee River Dr. Dryer reports a flowing well, 
depth not given, which upon a partial analysis shows hard water, with 
a trace of sodium chloride and a small amount of sulphureted hydro- 
gen; also iron carbonate in measurable amount.^ 

Wells near the county infirmary, southwest of Fort Wayne, on the 
border of the lake outlet, obtain water at 25 or 35 feet. After pene- 
trating a few feet of surface sand they are mainly through till. In a 
few cases the wells reach a depth of 60 feet. 

In the portion of the county north of the lake outlet and west of 
the St. Joseph River there is usually but 20 or 30 feet of till to be 
penetrated before a strong stream of water is found in sand or gravel. 
Possibly a continuous sheet of gravel underlies that region at com- 
paratively slight depth. In one case a boring near the north line of 

1 Sixteenth Ann. Rept. Indiana Geol. Survey, p. 127. 
IRR 21 4 



50 WELLS OF NORTHERN INDIANA. [no. 21. 

the county, after penetrating 20 feet of surface till, was carried 125 
feet into sand without reaching its bottom. 

Reference was made in the discussion of Dekalb County to several 
wells near Spencerville which have a depth of 60 to 100 feet. Some 
of these are located in northern Allen Countj^. The well at Christian 
Hirsh's, 198 feet deep, is very near the county line. This well, after 
penetrating 70 feet of till, passed through 120 feet of fine sand before 
entering a material coarse enough to screen. Sand of such fineness 
is frequently a greater obstacle to well drillers than a solid blue till 
free from water. 

Deep wells are more common in the northeastern part of the county 
than elsewhere, there being a heavy sheet of till on the moraine east 
of the St. Joseph River and also on the old lake plain. It is not rare 
to penetrate till 60 or 75 feet before obtaining water. 

From Fort Wayne eastward to New Haven rock is usually encoun- 
tered at 80 feet or less. In some cases wells are obtained at 25 or 35 
feet in beds of gravel between the sheets of till. There are also 
places where wells may be obtained in the sand of the old lake outlet 
at depths of 20 feet or less. 

At the village of New Haven the wells are obtained in gravel at a 
depth of about 30 feet. There is, however, a well at E. W. Green's, 
just east of the village, situated on the upper lake beach, which has 
the following section : 

Feet. 

1. Beach sand and gravel __. 9 

2. Blue clay _ 33 

3. Gravel _ 3 

4. Blue till 23 

5. Cobble and gravel 5 

Total _. 73 

Another well at Mr. Green's, 55 feet in depth, penetrates 18 feet of 
surface sand, and is then through blue till to the bottom. There are 
two wells at Herman Schuelker's, in New Haven, each about 60 feet 
in depth, which are mainly till. The waterworks supply at New Haven 
is from a gas boring 300 feet in depth. In this boring rock was struck 
at 82 feet. At about 150 feet a strong flow of water was obtained, 
which rose nearly to the surface, and at 300 feet the head was increased 
to 11 feet above the surface. An analysis of the water is given else- 
where.^ 

A well at Robert Bell's, east from New Haven, near the State line, 
strikes rock at 60 feet, and obtains water at that depth. 

The southeastern portion of the county usually affords strong veins 
of water at convenient depths, seldom more than 30 or 40 feet. The 
drift in that portion of the county is probably not more than 75 feet 
in average thickness. 

I Eighteenth Ann. Rept. U. S. Geol. Survey, Part IV, p. 498. 



LEVEBETT.] ADAMS COUNTY. 51 

In the southwestern and southern portions of the county records of 
a few wells were obtained which penetrate 20 or 30 feet of till before 
reaching a water gravel. Occasionally a well is sunk to a depth of 75 
feet, largely through till. One well on the moraine in the southwest 
corner of the county, 102 feet in depth, is mainly through till. Another, 
85 feet in depth, is also largely through till. Upon passing eastward 
from the moraine in the southwest township of the county tubular 
wells are found to decrease in depth, being 75 or 100 feet on the moraine 
and but 40 or 50 feet on the bordering plain. 

ADAMS COUNTY. 

General statement. — Adams County is situated on the east border 
of the State, immediately south of Allen. Its area is 330 square 
miles. Like Allen County, it has a large amount of very plane sur- 
face, whose monotony is broken by two moraines, the St. Marys and 
the Wabash. The St. Marys moraine crosses the northeast corner of 
the county, and occupies a belt 2 to 4 miles in width along the east 
border of the St. Marys River. The Wabash moraine traverses the 
southern and southwestern portion of the county, following the 
northeast border of the Wabash River, and has a breadth seldom 
exceeding 2 miles. The altitude of the southern portion of the 
county is somewhat higher than that of the northern portion, but the 
general descent in the 24 miles from south to north across the county 
amounts to scarcely 100 feet. 

The moraines and also the plain tracts present a nearly unbroken 
sheet of till. There appear to be no definite gravel aprons or out- 
wash deposits from the moraines. In places where the drift is thick 
considerable sand and gravel is found in its lower portion, but as a 
rule the drift deposits are thin, their average thickness being scarcely 
more than 50 feet, if the deep preglacial valleys are disregarded. 
Wells often reach rock at but 30 or 40 feet or less, and the shallow 
valleys of the St. Marys and Wabash, scarcely more than 30 feet in 
depth, have numerous rock outcrops along their courses in this 
county. The great depth of valley excavation prior to the drift 
deposition is shown by the gas- well boring at Geneva, in the southern 
part of the county, where 350 feet of glacial drift was encountered. 
Within a mile of the boring at Geneva rock outcrops occur at an ele- 
vation as high as the well mouth. Notwithstanding the great depth 
of these preglacial valleys, they are so completely filled that no sur- 
face indications of their courses can be seen. 

Individual wells. — Along the St. Marj^s moraine and the plain east 
of it, in the northeastern part of the county, the depth of wells ranges 
from 20 to 50 feet, mainly through till. 

At Decatur rock is struck at the court-house well at 40 feet. It 
penetrates till, with the exception of a few feet of sand at the bottom. 
Several wells in the city obtain their water supply from this bed of 



52 WELLS OF NORTHERN INDIANA. [no. 21. 

sand and gravel above the rock. The city waterworks obtain a sup- 
ply from limestone at 250 feet. 

At Pleasant Mills, near the east border of the county, wells are 20 
to 35 feet in depth, mainly through till. They usually obtain water 
in a bed of sand or gravel, but a few enter the rock. 

On the plain south and west from the St. Marys River records of 
several wells were obtained which enter rock at 50 or 60 feet. They 
usually penetrate from 35 to 50 feet of till, beneath which a bed of 
sand is found, which, if not of too fine texture, is made the source of 
water supply, but if very fine it is cased out, and water is obtained 
from the underlying rock. On portions of this plain rock is encoun- 
tered at 20 to 25 feet. 

On the Wabash moraine, in the southern part of the county, 
records of two wells were obtained in sec. 32, T. 25, R. 15 E., which 
enter rock at 51 and 60 feet. They each penetrate 35 or 40 feet of 
till, below which is sand. A well on the moraine in section 31 of the 
same township enters rock at 70 feet. It penetrates till 52 feet, 
below which is sand and gravel. 

Along the Wabash River wells are usually obtained at 15 or 20 feet, 
either at the surface of the rock or at slight depth in it. 

At Geneva, which is situated near the Wabash River, the wells 
usually obtain water in gravel below till at about 35 feet. A few are 
sunk into limestone and have a depth of 80 feet. The gas-well bor- 
ing, as above noted, penetrated 350 feet of drift. Of this, the upper 
80 feet was principally till; the remaining 270 feet was mainly sand 
and gravel. 

On the plain southwest from the Wabash River rock is usually 
encountered at but 20 or 30 feet. The majority of wells, however, 
are obtained without penetrating the rock. 

WELLS COUNTY. 

General statement. — ^Wells County is situated immediately west of 
Adams and south of Allen County, in the northeastern part of the 
State. It has an area of 357 square miles. Its topography is quite 
similar to that of Adams County, there being a plain surface except 
in two moraines, one of which crosses the northeastern portion of the 
county and the other the southwestern. The one in the northeastern 
part is the continuation of the Wabash moraine of Adams County. 
It follows the northeastern border of Wabash River to about the 
middle of the county, where it turns north away from the river and 
traverses Allen County, as noted above. The moraine which crosses 
the southwestern corner follows the northeast border of Salamonie 
River and receives the name Salamonie from that stream. Neither 
of these moraines much exceed 2 miles in average width in their course 
through this county. There is also a slight ridging of the drift along 



LEVEBETT.] WELLS COUNTY. 53 

the northeast border of Rock Creek, parallel to and midway between 
the two moraines just mentioned. Its relief is, however, but 15 or 20 
feet, or scarcely half as great as the relief of either of the moraines 
mentioned. The streams of this county, like those of Adams, are 
flowing in small, shallow valleys, cut but 20 to 40 feet into the plains. 

The drift is very similar to that of Adams County, being a some- 
what uniform sheet of compact till at surface, with thin beds of sand 
included in or underlying it. The thickness of the drift is also mod- 
erate, rock being struck at many places at 30 to 50 feet, and occasion- 
ally at less depths. The average thickness for the county, unless 
greatly affected by concealed deep valleys, probably does not exceed 
50 feet. There are no surface indications of deep valleys traversing 
the county, nor have borings shown their presence. The deep borings, 
however, are not sufficiently numerous to afford much knowledge of 
the topography of the rock surface. 

Individual wells. — Wells along the Wabash moraine, in the north 
part of the county, usually penetrate but 50 or 75 feet of till, and 
tubular wells are usually put down to these depths. The dug wells 
obtain moderate amounts of water from local beds of gravel or sand 
in the till at much less depth. At Kingsland, on the crest of the 
moraine, a record of one well was obtained, which enters rock at 80 
feet, but another well of the same depth does not reach rock; both 
are mainly through till. 

West of the Wabash moraine rock is usually found at 50 to 70 feet, 
while in the vicinity of Uniondale it is struck at 20 to 40 feet. The 
tubular wells often enter the rock. Dug wells usually obtain supplies 
of water in the lower portion of the drift. 

Near the eastern border of the county the drift on the moraine is 
about 100 feet in thickness, and several wells in that vicinity are 60 
to 100 feet in depth. On the plain north of the moraine wells are 
usually obtained at less than 50 feet. 

Along the Wabash River there are numerous outcrops of rock, but 
wells are ordinarily obtained above the rock at depths of 20 feet or 
less. 

At the city of Bluffton, the county seat, the supply for the water- 
works is obtained from wells drilled into the rock to a distance of 150 
to 300 feet. 

On the plain southwest from the Wabash River wells are usually 
obtained at 40 feet or less in beds of sand or gravel below the till. 
Occasionally a well is sunk to a depth of 60 or 75 feet. 

On the Salamonie moraine the wells range from 20 feet up to 75 
feet or more. They are principally through till. 

Along the Salamonie River, and on the plain west of the river, wells 
are seldom more than 30 feet in depth, and are usually through till to 
the water vein near the bottom. 



54 WELLS OF NORTHERN INDIANA. [no. 21. 

HUNTINGTON COUNTY. 

General statement. — Huntington County is situated in northeastern 
Indiana, west of AVells and the southern portion of Allen County, 
and has an area of 380 square miles. Huntington is its count}^ seat. 
The greater part of this county is a smooth, sloping plain, standing 
800 to 900 feet above tide. The Salamonie moraine, \Yhich enters it 
from Wells County in the southeastern corner, becomes scarcely trace- 
able near the center of the county, and no other moraine of promi- 
nence is found within the limits of the county. The valleys are small, 
with one exception, that of the lake outlet, which joins the Wabash 
at Huntington. This outlet has a depth of 40 to 75 feet and a breadth 
of 1 to 2 miles throughout its course in the county, whereas the 
Wabash, above its junction with the outlet, and also the Salamonie, 
have valleys scarcely one-eighth of a mile in average width and of less 
depth than the lake outlet. 

The elevation of the rock surface decreases gradually northward 
from the southern boundary of the county to the lake outlet. North 
of the lake outlet it appears to drop down rapidly. The drift is com- 
paratively thin in the portion of the county south of the outlet, there 
being seldom so much as 100 feet encountered in wells. North from 
the outlet the thickness of drift is 150 to 200 feet or more. 

In Huntington County, as in Wells and Adams, the drift is mainly 
a compact till. Wells are obtained either in local deposits of gravel 
and sand within the till or more extensive deposits which appear to 
prevail near the base of the drift. 

Individual wells. — Wells on the plain north of the Wabash outlet 
have, in a few cases, entered rock at about 140 feet after penetrating 
a nearly solid sheet of till. Ordinarily, the wells are but 50 to 100 feet 
and encounter no rock. 

In the city of Huntington, on the uplands bordering the lake out- 
let, wells are frequently obtained at about 30 feet in gravel below till. 
Along the outlet they are usually sunk into the limestone, which there 
outcrops quite extensively. The waterworks wells are sunk into the 
limestone to a depth of about 100 feet. Although there are 11 wells 
in use, the supply is insufficient and some water is pumped from the 
river. 

Alcove Huntington, in the vicinity of Roanoke, wells in the old lake 
outlet are often obtained without entering rock, at depths of 10 to 25 
feet. One well near Roanoke enters rock at 36 feet. 

In the vicinity of New Lancaster, on the borders of the Salamonie 
River, gravel is more abundant than elsewhere along the valley and 
wells often obtain water without penetrating till. Between New Lan- 
caster and Andrews wells commonly penetrate 20 to 40 feet of till. 

At Andrews, the wells are usually carried into the limestone to 
depths of 60 to 150 feet, and occasionally to over 200 feet. The analy- 



LEVERETT.] WABASH COUNTY. 55 

sis of water from a well in this village, 214 feet in depth, is given else- 
where.^ The water is shown to be slightly saline as well as hard. It 
also contains much sulphureted hydrogen. 

In the vicinity of Warren several flowing wells have been obtained 
in limestone on low ground along the Salamonie River at a depth of 
65 to 100 feet. The head is sufficient to carry the water only 5 or 6 
feet above the surface. The water is decidedly chalybeate. 

WABASH COUNTY. 

General statement. — Wabash County is situated in the north-central 
portion of the State, with the city of Wabash as its county seat. Its 
area is 430 square miles. The eastern border of the county is occu- 
pied throughout its entire length by the Mississinewa moraine. The 
northwestern part of the county is occupied by the Erie-Saginaw inter- 
lobate moraine, the southeast border of that moraine being near the 
valley of Eel River. The portion of the county west and south from 
these moraines is a till plain. The morainic ridge on the east border 
of the county, as well as the interlobate moraine, rises above the 800- 
foot contour, but the greater part of the plain in the county falls below 
800 feet, and on the immediate border of the Wabash scarcely exceeds 
700 feet. The valley of the Wabash passes through the county a little 
south of the center. Occupied as it was by the lake outlet, it is very 
much larger than the other valleys of the county and the valleys of 
similar-sized streams in the newer drift area. The average width is 
fully 1 mile and the depth 50 to 100 feet. 

In Wabash County, as in Huntington, the general elevation of the 
rock surface is much higher south from the Wabash River than it is 
north, and as the altitude of the northern portion is fully as great as 
that of the southern, the drift deposits of the northern portion are very 
heavy. The drift of the southern portion is about like that of coun- 
ties to the east and probablj^ falls below an average of 100 feet. The 
drift in the northern portion probably in places exceeds 300 feet, the 
thickness at North Manchester, in Eel River Valley, being 274 feet. 
In the southern portion, however, there are valleys deeply filled with 
drift that show a rock surface about as low as that of the northern por- 
tion of the county. Such a valley was brought to light by the boring 
at Lafontaine (Ashland post-office), where the drift is found to be 300 
feet in thickness. 

Wabash County resembles the counties to the east in carrying a 
somewhat uniform sheet of compact till. The only gravelly districts 
worthy of note are a narrow belt along the borders of Eel River and 
terraces in the valley of the Wabash. 

Individual tvelJs. — A boring for natural gas at North Manchester 
penetrates 274 feet of drift, mainly sand. The drift within the limits 

> Eighteenth Ann. Rept. U. S. Geol. Survey, Part IV, p. 498. 



56 WELLS OF NORTHERN INDIANA. [no. 21. 

of that village, however, varies considerably. Several flowing wells 
along Eel River valley penetrate till to a depth of 50 to 70 feet, beneath 
which is a sheet of water with a head sufficient 'u rise 10 or 12 feet 
above the surface. The waterworks supply is from flowing wells 100 
feet in depth. In the higher portion of the village wells are ordinarily 
obtained at 30 or 35 feet, without penetrating much till, but in a few 
instances they are carried to depths of 100 or 115 feet, largely through 
till. 

On the Mississinewa moraine, east and southeast from North Man- 
chester, wells are often in till to a depth of 100 feet or more before 
obtaining a strong vein of water. One well, 4 miles east of North 
Manchester (in sec. 12, T. 29, R. 7 E.), penetrated 156 feet of till. 

On the plain between Eel River and the Wabash and west from 
the Mississinewa moraine wells usually penetrate till to a depth of 30 
or 40 feet to obtain a strong vein of water. On the north side of Eel 
River, west from North Manchester, the interlobate moraine usually 
presents 50 feet or more of compact till at its surface, through which 
many wells have been sunk. 

At Laketon, in the valley of Eel River, below North Manchester, a 
well 125 feet in depth is mainly through sand. It is thought by the 
residents of that village that the sheet of sand passes northward 
beneath the till of the moraine, but there have been few deep wells 
to test the value of this opinion. 

At the city of Wabash wells are often obtained in the vallej^ at 
depths of 15 to 25 feet without reaching the bottom of the gravel. A 
better supply is, however, obtained at about 100 feet in the limestone. 
Some objection is offered to the water from the limestone because of 
its extreme hardness. For that reason the waterworks are supplied 
largely from drift wells. The wells are located in the valley of Treaty 
Creek, south of the city, and are overflowing. The depths range from 
42 to 55 feet. 

On the Mississinewa moraine, south of the Wabash, several wells 
have been put down to depths of 95 or 100 feet or more through till 
before obtaining an adequate supply of water, but as a rule- water 
may be obtained at less than 50 feet. 

On the plain west of the Mississinewa moraine, in southern Wabash 
County, till is usually penetrated to a depth of 25 to 40 feet or more. 

At Lafontaine, in the south part of the countj^, the gas boring pen- 
etrates 300 feet of drift, but rock outcrops within a short distance, 
both above and below Lafontaine, in the bluffs of the Mississinewa 
River. Wells are usually obtained at Lafontaine and at other points 
along the Mississinewa, in the southern part of the county, at depths 
of 25 or 35 feet. Gas borings in the vicinity of Somerset, in the south- 
west corner of the county, show the drift to have a thickness ranging 
from 35 up to about 100 fee^ the lower portion of which is a. water- 
bearing sand or gravel. 



LEVERETT.] MIAMI COUNTY. 57 

In the Seventeenth Report of the Indiana Geological Survey many- 
records of wells are published which have a depth of only 10 to 40 
feet. With these are occasional records of deeper wells. One near 
New Madison (sec. 11, T. 29, R. 7 E.), 207 feet in depth, strikes lime- 
stone at 181 feet. It penetrates till 160 feet, below which is 21 feet of 
sand. Two other wells in section 26 of the same township penetrate a 
similar amount of till, and obtain water in sand or gravel at 164 and 
185 feet without entering rock. 

It is stated that wells occasionally enter rock at 70 or 75 feet on 
farms 5 miles north of Lagro, but a well in that vicinity, on the farm 
of Christopher Speicher, strikes no rock at a depth of 156 feet. It is 
mainly through blue till, there being a thin bed of gravel at 80 to 84 
feet and another at 150 to 156 feet. 

Records of two deep wells in the southwest township of the county 
are reported as follows: On farm of Jacob Thomas, depth 64 feet, 
till except 4 feet of water-bearing gravel at bottom; on farm of L. 
Waggoner, depth 96 feet, till 80 feet, below which are alternations of 
gravel, sand, and blue mud, to a limestone at bottom. 

On the farm of John H. Pefley, near the south bluff of the Wabash 
River, in sec. 18, T. 27, R. 8 E., a well 62 feet in depth is reported to 
have barometric properties of a marked character, there being an 
inrush of air in fair weather and an escape of air in foul weather. A 
whistle, made of two convex disks with a hole in the center, attached 
to a gas pipe screwed into the base plate of the pump may be heard 
frequently at the distance of one-half mile, and makes apparent the 
force of the current of air. It is probable that air spaces in the sand 
offer a medium for the inflow of air to correspond with the changes 
of atmosphere outside the well. The section of the well is as follows: 

Feet. 

1. Soil and yellow clay 7 

2. Sandy blue clay. 24 

3. Blue hardpan clay _. 1^ 

4. Dry sand _ 8 

5. Sandy blue hardpan 12 

6. Water-bearing blue hardpan 9^ 

Total _. 62 

MIAMI COUNTY. 

General statement. — Miami County is situated in the north- central 
part of the State, immediately west of Wabash County, with Peru 
as its county seat. Its area is 360 square miles. The broad Wabash 
Valley traverses it nearly centralty from east to west and, as in 
Wabash County, separates a district of thin drift on the south from 
one of thick drift on the north. The northern portion is even more 
elevated than the southern, but the rock surface is much lower in the 
former district. The portion of the county south of the Wabash is 



58 WELLS OF NORTHERN INDIANA. [no. 21. 

nearly all plane surfaced, and so, also, is mueh of the district between 
the Wabash and Eel rivers. That north of Eel River is strongly 
morainic, and embraces part of the large Erie moraine, which, with 
the Maxinkuckee moraine of the Saginaw lobe, forms the interlobate 
moraine of northeastern Indiana and southeastern Michigan. The 
drift is composed largely of till in the plains, but in the moraines 
there are knolls of gravel and sand associated with the till knolls, as 
well as extensive deposits of sand and gravel in the deeper portion of 
the drift. 

Individual wells. — A gas boring 2^ miles north of Peru penetrates 
318 feet of drift, a large part of which is water-bearing sand and 
gravel. Neighboring wells for water usually obtain an abundant sup- 
ply after penetrating till 30 to 40 feet. One well, however, in sec. 29, 
T. 28, R. 5 E., penetrated 90 feet of till before obtaining water. 

In the city of Peru there are few wells drilled into rock, although 
there are numerous rock outcrops in the vicinity of the city. The 
average depth of the wells is about 30 feet, with a range from 15 
up to 60 feet. They penetrate either a loose alluvial deposit before 
entering gravel and sand or pass immediately into gravel and sand. 
There is, therefore, a liability of contamination of the water from 
cesspools or other sources. The city water supply is pumped from 
the Wabash River. 

At Bunker Hill a sheet of till 25 to 40 feet in thickness is usually 
passed through before water-bearing sand or gravel is reached. In 
one of the gas wells at Bunker Hill the drift was 68 feet, in another 
84 feet; in both the lower half was largely sand and gravel. 

A gas boring east of Bunker Hill, in sec. 21, T. 26, R. 5 E., at an 
altitude of 175 feet above the Wabash at Peru, penetrates 60 feet of 
drift, of which 54 feet is till and the lower 6 feet gravel. 

At Amboy the wells penetrate about 15 feet of till, beneath which 
is a water-bearing gravel extending to the rock. In that vicinity 
rock is struck at 35 to 50 feet. 

At Xenia (Converse post-offi.ce) the dug wells are 10 to 20 feet in 
depth, in gravel beneath a sheet of till. The drift in that vicinity is 
variable in depth, ranging from 25 up to 100 feet or more in thickness. 
A few wells are drilled into the rock to depths ranging from 100 to 
400 feet. From the deep wells the head is sufficient to bring to the 
surface water which is reported to be of excellent quality. 

In the southwestern part of the county wells are often 50 to 70 feet 
through till, though shallower wells are usually obtained. 

A well at Denver, in the northern part of the county, is noted by 
Mr. Gorby,^ which penetrates 125 feet of sand and gravel and reaches 
no rock. 

1 Sixteenth Ann. Rept. Indiana Geol. Survey, p. 173. 



LEVEBETT.] DETAILED DISCUSSION OF WELLS. 69 

CASS COUNTY. 

General statement. — Cass County is situated in the north-central 
part of the State, the city of Logansport being its county seat. Its 
area is 420 square miles. The valley of the Wabash traverses it nearly 
centrally from east to west. The portion south of the Wabash is 
a comparatively smooth till plain. The portion north of the Wabash 
is largely morainic, though there is a plain in fche extreme northwest 
corner of the county. There is not the conspicuous descent of the 
rock surface from south to north that appears in the three counties 
along the Wabash east from this county. In the immediate vicinity 
of the Wabash the drift is thin, but on the upland, both north and 
south of the river, a thickness of 75 to 100 feet or more is found. The 
drift is very largely till, as in counties to the east. 

Individual wells. — At Royal Center, in the northwest part of the 
county, the oil-well borings enter rock at about 110 feet. The water 
wells are about 40 feet, though having a range from 15 up to 110 feet. 
They usually penetrate the following series : 

Feet. 

1. Surface clay 4 to 6 

2. Gravel 5 

3. Blue till, extending to the water-bearing gravel 40 

Total... - 50 

At Logansport wells range in depth from 12 to 80 feet, but the 
majority are about 40 feet. The rock surface being uneven, wells in 
some cases reach a depth of 40 feet in drift, while in others they enter 
limestone at 10 or 20 feet. The drift in this city being composed 
mainly of gravel and the water surface being but a few feet below 
the well mouth, there is much danger of contamination. The city 
waterworks obtain the supply in part from springs and in part from 
Eel River. 

On the Wabash bluff, south from Logansport, wells are about 40 feet 
in depth, the upper half being through till and the lower in gravel. 

A well on the north bluff of Wabash River, near Logansport, sec. 
27, T. 27, R. 2 E., was largely through sand and gravel to a depth of 
90 feet, and struck wood and leaves near the bottom. 

In the vicinity of Lake Cicott, in the western part of the county, 
there are sand deposits on the north bluff of the Wabash which in 
some cases afford water for wells at a depth of 15 feet. Wells usually, 
however, penetrate the underlying till. 

At Walton, in the southeastern part of the county, the drift is about 
80 feet, and is largely till. At Galveston the drift in a valley 20 feet 
or more below the level of the railway station is shown by a gas bor- 
ing to be 41 feet in thickness. The lower portion contains much 
water. 



60 WELLS OF NORTHERN INDIANA. [no. 21. 

WHITE COUNTY. 

General statemenf. — White County is situated in the northwestern 
part of the State, immediately west of Cass County, its county seat 
being Monticello. It has an area of 500 square miles. With the 
exception of a few drift ridges in its southern portion and occasional 
sand ridges in its northern portion, it has a plane surface. The drift 
ridges are most conspicuous immediately east of Chalmers. It is at 
this point that the large Erie moraine, which has been referred to as 
occupying the northern portion of Miami and Cass counties, makes 
a curve to the south. A smaller and perhaps older moraine, formed 
probably by the Saginaw lobe, leads from near Chalmers westward 
through White and Benton counties. The Tippecanoe valley in its 
course across White County deepens from a comparatively shallow 
ditch near the north border of the county to a trench 75 or 100 feet in 
depth at the south. Its breadth is but a few rods greater than the 
stream, and is in strong contrast with the large valley of the Wabash, 
into which it discharges. 

The drift in the northwestern portion of this county, like that of 
adjacent portions of Pulaski and Jasper counties, is very thin, and 
the majority of wells enter rock at 10 to 20 feet, or even less. In 
the southeastern portion of the county there is a heavy deposit of 
drift, 200 feet or more in thickness. 

Individual wells. — At Monon, in the north part of the county, rock 
is entered at from 3 to 30 feet. Wells are usually about 40 feet, 
though they range from 20 to 200 feet in depth. The limestone from 
which the water is obtained contains a sufficient amount of iron 
pyrites to affect the water appreciably, though not sufficient to render 
it unfit for drinking. 

At Monticello, the county seat, wells are usually obtained at 20 or 
30 feet, in gravel below till. Tubular wells are somewhat deeper, the 
deepest being about 140 feet. The city water supply comes from a 
large well of moderate depth, but thought to be beyond the reach of 
surface contamination. The gas- well boring at this place penetrated 
205 feet of drift, largely till. 

At Keynolds, in the central portion of the county, there are a series 
of sand ridges, in which water is often obtained at a depth of 15 or 20 
feet, or even less. Tubular wells reach a depth of 75 to 120 feet Avith- 
out entering rock. One of the tubular wells, at Mr. Van Voorst's, 56 
feet in depth, is reported to have entered a black muck at the base of 
the sand, about 80 feet from the surface, 6 or 7 feet in thickness, 
beneath which is a blue clay about 15 feet thick, extending to the 
water-bearing gravel at bottom. A well opposite the post-office found 
a similar muck at the bottom of the sand at 20 feet, and entered gravel 
beneath it at 25 feet. Wells not infrequently encounter muck below 
the sand in this region. A well in the south part of Reynolds, 120 



LEVEBETT.] BENTON COUNTY. 61 

feet in depth, encountered either a bowlder or a rock ledge, which 
prevented further boring. 

Among the deepest wells in the county is William Owen's, about 6 
miles southwest of Reynolds, 190 feet in depth. It entered rock at 30 
feet. Inflammable gas was found at about 145 feet. Wells in that 
vicinity often strike rock at 20 or 30 feet. The thick drift seems to 
set in immediately east from a line running south from Reynolds 
through Chalmers. In Chalmers rock is struck at about 90 feet, but 
at Albert Gosley's, 1^ miles east of Chalmers, no rock was found at 
150 feet; and a well at J. N. Bunnell's, a mile southeast of Reynolds, 
strikes no rock at 160 feet. 

On the drift ridge west from Chalmers rock is usually struck at 75 
or 80 feet. On the plain north of the ridge it is struck at 20 to 40 
feet. On the south slope of the ridge, in sec. 5, T. 25, R. 5 W., rock 
is struck at 54 feet and water obtained at 75 feet. One well, however, 
on the moraine near the west line of the county, failed to reach rock 
at 113 feet. The drift, both on the plain and in the morainic ridges 
in the southern part of White County, appears to be mainly till. 

BENTON COUNTY. 

General statement. — Benton County is situated on the western bor- 
der of the State, immediately south of Newton and Jasper counties 
and west from White County. It has an area of 503 square miles, and 
the village of Fowler is its county seat. 

This county is occupied by several somewhat prominent drift ridges. 
In the north tier of townships there is a sharp drift ridge, scarcely a 
mile in average width, but 25 to 75 feet in height, passing entirely 
across the county and forming the south border of a plain which is 
drained by the Iroquois River. A few miles farther south a promi- 
nent ridge enters Benton County from the west and passes eastward, 
bearing slightly north, to the village of Fowler, where it abruptly ter- 
minates. This ridge has a breadth of 3 or 4 miles and a relief of 60 
to 75 feet or more above bordering plains. On the south border of 
the county is a third ridge, which passes eastward to the vicinity of 
Oxford, where it swings abruptly to the north and terminates imme- 
diately east of Fowler. This ridge has about the same breadth as the 
one north of it, but scarcely so great relief. Aside from the three main 
ridges just mentioned, there are, northwest from Fowler, a series of 
sharp drift knolls, 25 to 50 feet in height, filling a portion of the plain 
between the north and middle ridges. Notwithstanding the occur- 
rence of several prominent ridges, the general elevation of the county 
is remarkably uniform, the variations in elevation being about that 
of the relief of the ridges. Nearly the entire county lies between the 
contours of 700 and 800 feet above tide. A point near Fowler, on a 
sharp gravel knoll, reaches 857 feet, said to be the highest in the 
county. 



62 WELLS OF NORTHERN INDIANA. [no.2L 

The thickness of the drift in this county is found to be very great 
in the southern and western portions, in one place exceeding 400 
feet. But in the northern and eastern portions of the county, includ- 
ing nearly half its area, the drift is seldom found to exceed 100 feet. 
The surface portion of the drift appears to be generally a compact 
till, but the deeper portions, so far as tested by well borings, consist 
mainly of sand and gravel. 

Individual wells. — The following list of well sections includes sev- 
eral which have already been published,^ but the majority were per- 
sonally obtained from well drillers or owners of wells. 

The drift in northwestern Benton County, north from Sugar Creek, 
is shown by several wells to be a compact till to considerable depth, 
but along Sugar Creek and on the plain to the south much sand is 
encountered. 

At Earl Park a well, bored by P. M. Crane, penetrates — 

Feet. 

1. Soil and yellow till _ _ _ . 18 

2. Bluetill _ , 40 

3. Fine gray quicksand _ - 20 

4. Bluetill , 12 

5. Limestone. _ _....__ 12 

Total 102 

The water supply is from the limestone. At Raub's warehouse, in 
Earl Park, limestone was struck at 80 feet, and water obtained at 110 
feet. The drift was entirely till. Rock is quarried on Sugar Creek, 
1 mile north of Earl Park, on ground but 40 to 50 feet lower. 

In sec. 1, T. 26, R. 9 W., near the north line of the county, Mr. 
Schlautenhofer has a well 108 feet in depth, which obtained water 
at that depth beneath a bed of dark material thought to be coal. 
Shale was struck at 70 feet. 

In sec. 7, T. 26, R. 8 W., a well 109 feet in depth has the following 
section : 

Feet, 

1. Soil and yellow clay _ _. 6 

2. Blue clay _ _ _ 44 

3. Sand 2 

4. Blue clay ._ -.. 57 

Total. ._ - _ _ 109 

Other wells on the same section are obtained at 35 or 40 feet in a 
bed of gravel beneath the blue clay. 

On Mr. Raub's farm, 2 miles east of Earl Park, water is obtained in 
limestone at 54 feet. The drift, 50 feet, is entirely till. 

On the crest of the north drift ridge, in sec. 20, T. 26, R. 7 W., Mr. 
J. W. Swan has a well 116 feet in depth, which is thought to have struck 
sandstone at 82 feet, though it is reported to obtain water from gravel 

1 Fifteenth Ann. Rept. Indiana Geol. Survey, pp. 205-330. 



LEVERETT.] BENTON COUNTY. 63 

at the bottom. The drift was till to a depth, of 75 feet. Another well, 
only 150 yards distant, penetrated till to a depth of 82 feet without 
entering rock. On the south slope of the moraine Mr. Swan made a 
well which obtained water beneath the till at 25 to 27 feet. Another 
well on the south slope penetrated beds as follows: 

Feet. 

1. Till 31 

2. Cemented gravel _ _ 10 

3. Water gravel _ 3 

Total , _ 34 

Two miles east from Mr. Swan's, in the western edge of Gilboa 
Township, a well on the moraine strikes rock at 173 feet. It is 
reported to be mainly blue till with occasional beds of sand. Water 
was obtained at a depth of 196 feet. There is a quarry on Pine Creek, 
just south of this moraine, in sec. 28, T. 26, R. 7 W., at an elevation 
perhaps 75 feet lower than the well mouth. The rock surface, there- 
fore, varies about 100 feet in elevation. 

In the eastern part of the county several wells enter rock at 50 feet 
or less, and there is a quarry on Pine Creek just north of the village 
of Aydelott. 

A well near the northern terminus of the southernmost of the three 
ridges above mentioned, in sec. 15, T. 25, R. 7 W., enters rock at 55 
feet and obtains water at 60 feet. Another well, in sec. 10 of the 
same township, 85 feet in depth, enters rock at 72 feet. In both wells 
the drift is a compact blue till. 

At Fowler the waterworks' supply is obtained from wells about 175 
feet in depth. They enter rock at 130 feet. The water rises within 
25 feet of the surface and the wells are estimated to yield 150 gallons 
per minute. Several other deep wells have been made in Fowler and 
vicinity, which show a considerable variation in the elevation of the 
rock surface. A well at Mr. Van Nata's, in the west edge of the vil- 
lage, enters rock at 91 feet, after penetrating a nearly solid bed of till. 
A neighboring well, bored by Mr. Fowler, only 300 yards distant, 
reached a depth of 150 feet without encountering rock. In this well 
the upper 100 feet is till, below which is gravel and sand. The well 
at the post-office in Fowler strikes no rock at 160 feet. The drift is 
reported to be mainly sand. At the Tremont Hotel a well 104 feet in 
depth strikes no rock and is mainly through sand. The gas- well bor- 
ing in Fowler, one-fourth mile north of the railway station, strikes 
rock at 158 feet. In all these wells the surface altitude is very uni- 
form, there being scarcely 10 feet variation. Wells for a short dis- 
tance north and east of Fowler are obtained at 20 to 30 feet in sand 
and gravel below till. 

On the farm of Mrs. Sumner, at Sugar Grove, 6 miles southwest of 
Earl Park, rock is struck at 41 feet and water obtained at 47 feet. 

A few miles southwest of Fowler, on the middle drift ridge noted 



64 WELLS OF NORTHERN INDIANA. [no. 21. 

above, several deep wells have been made. Mr. William Bennett, 
sec. 33, T. 25, R. 9 W., has had several wells sunk to a depth of about 
150 feet, and one to a depth of 264 feet, without reaching rock. 
The drift is mainly till to a depth of 150 feet, below which is sand. 
The following section is from the well at Mr. Bennett's residence : 

Feet. 

1. Soil and yellow till 20 

2. Blue till 27 

3. Hard gray till. 12 

4. Greenish-gray till 81 

5. Fine gravel _ 4 

6. Greenish till 18 

7. Coarse gravel, with water _. 8 

Total -- 170 

A well at Lawrence Broes's, sec. 4, T. 24, R. 9 W., 260 feet in depth 
encounters no rock, and has a section similar to Mr. Bennett's. A 
well 3 miles north of Ambia, on the crest of the moraine, penetrates — 

Feet. 

1. Yellowtill 14 

2. Bluetill... 80 

3. Fine, dry sand 20 

4. Blue tilL 46 

5. Gravel, with water _. 1 to 2 

Depth to water 160 

At John Shilling's, 4 miles northeast of Ambia, near south border 
of the moraine, a well 114 feet in depth penetrates — 

Feet. 

1. Soil and sand , > 28 

2. Bluetill - -. 50 

3. Quicksand 16 

4. Bluetill .._ 20 

Gravel at bottom. 

Total -. .- 114 

Wells along the south border of the middle ridge are usually 
obtained at shallow depths, but occasionally reach a depth of 50 to 65 
feet. They often encounter sand and gravel near the surface. Thus, 
at James Siddon's well, about 2 miles north of Talbot, the drift is 
mainly sand to a depth of 24 feet, below which there is a bed of blue 
till 40 feet in thickness, water being obtained in gravel at 65 feet. 
Another illustration is found in the well at Mr. A. K. Dill's, 3 miles 
north of Boswell. This well penetrates a loose gravel 18 feet, below 
which is a thin bed of blue clay, which in turn is underlain by a 
cementf'd gravel 40 to 45 feet in thickness, extending to the water 
gravel at 65 feet. 

In the southern tier of townships several borings have been made 
which show 300 to 400 feet of drift. At Otterbein, however, a boring 
212 feet in depth strikes rock at 132 feet, and about 5 miles north of 



LEVERETT.] BENTON COUNTY. 65 

Otterbein rock is struck at 80 feet. Among the borings showing a 
large amount of drift are the following : 

W. J. Templeton's boring for artesian water, about three-fourths 
of a mile northeast of Templeton, reached a depth of 300 feet without 
entering rock. The drift is mainly till, but sand in its lower part 
furnishes water, which rises nearly to the surface, 675 feet above tide. 

A boring by W. J. and L. Templeton, on their farm in sec. 32, T. 24, 
R. 8 W., about 5 miles southwest of Oxford, made with a view to 
obtaining coal, penetrated 372 feet of drift, as follows: 

Feet. 

1. Yellowtill 12 

2. Blue till 115 

3. Cemented gravel _ 25 

4. Yellow till and gravel 110 

5. Black material, called shale 10 

6. Clay and sand ._. _ 100 

Total... 372 

The well was continued to a depth of 537 feet, or 165 feet into the 
rock, which is mainly limestone. 

A boring for gas on Joseph Atkinson's farm, about 1 mile east of 
the Templeton well, penetrated 410 feet of drift. A small amount of 
gas was found in the drift at a depth of 40 feet. 

A well in the village of Talbot, 310 feet in depth, strikes no rock; 
the upper 60 feet is till, the remainder mainly sand. 

In addition to the borings showing a very deep drift there are sev- 
eral others worthy of note in this southern tier of townships. A well 
made by W. J. Templeton, 2 miles east of Templeton, 177 feet in 
depth, penetrates — 

Feet. 

1. Yellowtill... 12 

2. Blue till, with thin sand beds _ 75 

3. Cemented gravel _ _ ___ 20 

4. Yellow clay and sand _ 70 

Total _. ...177 

J. D. Stengle's well at Templeton penetrates 60 feet of till, beneath 
which is water-bearing sand. DeDth of well 80 feet. A well 2 miles 
south of Boswell penetrates — 

Feet. 

1. YelJowtill. , 13 

2. Blue till .- ._ _.. 34 

3. Quicksand .._ _ 20 

4. Gravel 66 

Total I33 

A well on Samuel Dove's farm, immediately east of Boswell, 185 feet 
in depth, strikes no rock. 

At the several villages along the Lake Erie and Western Railroad 
wells are usually obtained at 20 feet or less, but, as indicated above, 
IRR 21 5 



66 WELLS OF NORTHERN INDIANA. [no. 21. 

occasional wells are much deeper. Many wells in Templeton obtain 
water at 20 or 30 feet. They enter blue till at about 6 or 8 feet. 
At Oxford wells are usually but 14 to 20 feet in depth, though occa- 
sionally 80 or 90 feet. In the east part of the village a flowing well 
has been obtained at a depth of 55 feet. It has a head about 5 feet 
above the surface. The water is strongly chalybeate. At Ambia, 
records of two wells were obtained which slightly exceed 100 feet in 
depth. They are mainly through blue till. 

WARREN COUNTY. 

General statement. — Warren County is situated on the west border 
of the State, immediately north of the Wabash River, with Williams- 
port as its county seat. It has an area of 360 square miles. 

Like Benton County, which borders it on the north, this county is 
traversed by several conspicuous ridges of drift. Along its northern 
border is the southernmost of the ridges described in the account of 
Benton County. It has a breadth of 2 or 3 miles and a relief above 
the plain on the south of 40 to 50 feet or more. A few miles south- 
east of this ridge is a larger one, which enters the State near State 
Line village, passes northeastward nearly to Williamsport, and there 
turns north along the west side of Pine Creek. This ridge is 3 to 6 
miles in width and has a relief of 30 to 60 feet or more above border- 
ing plains on the north and south. East from Pine Creek are two 
ridges trending from northwest to southeast, extending from the val- 
ley of the creek to the valley of the Wabash, a distance of 8 or 10 
miles. They are each a mile or more in width, and stand 30 or 40 feet 
above the bordering plains. The narrow plain between them is 
scarcely 1 mile in average width. The extreme northeastern part of 
the county is a plain. It is estimated that fully one-half the area of. 
the county is occupied by the drift ridges. 

The surface portion of the drift throughout the county is usually a 
compact till, though the portion east from Pine Creek becomes gravelly 
in limited areas. Along the Wabash there are conspicuous gravel 
terraces below Williamsport. Above that city the valley is too nar- 
row for extensive development of terraces. The narrowness is due 
to the resistant rock strata in which the stream has cut its passage. 
It is, however, seldom less than one-half mile in width. 

For some distance north from the Wabash, unless it be at the extreme 
eastern border of the county, rock is encountered at comparatively 
slight depth, seldom more than 100 feet; but along the northern border 
of the county it is probable that the drift, like that of the adjoining 
portion of Benton County, is 300 to 400 feet or more in thickness. 

Individual wells. — But few well records have been obtained in this 
county, owing partly to the fact that wells are generally obtained at 
comparatively slight depth. 

At Williamsport, the county seat, wells vary greatly in depth, there 



I.EVERETT.] TIPPECANOE COUNTY. 67 

being a range from 14 feet up to about 100 feet. In a portion of the 
city rock is struck at 10 to 15 feet, but there are places where the 
drift attains a thickness of 85 feet. A boring for gas at this city 1,540 
feet in depth found fresh water at a depth of 65 feet in great quan- 
tity; also at about 165 feet. From the latter depth water rises within 
32 feet of the surface. Salt water was struck at about 1,200 feet. 
Gas not being obtained, the salt water was shut off, and the fresh 
water is thus available for water supply. The well is estimated to 
yield 20 gallons per minute. 

On the Wabash terrace below Williamsport, which stands about 
100 to 110 feet above the river, several wells have been sunk to the 
level of low water in the river. They are through gravel or sand 
their entire depth. The water rises and falls with the rise and fall 
of the river. 

A boring for coal at West Lebanon penetrated a soil containing 
wood and leaves beneath the blue till at a depth of 140 feet. Rock 
was entered a short distance beneath this soil. About a mile south- 
east from West Lebanon, on ground nearly 100 feet higher, rock is 
struck at a depth of only 60 feet. 

TIPPECANOE COUNTY. 

General statement.^Ti-p'peGeinoe County is situated somewhat north 
of the middle of the western part of the State, with Lafayette, the 
county seat, near its geographic center. It has an area of 500 square 
miles. The greater part of the surface is plain or but gently undu- 
lating. There are, however, in the southern half a number of sharp 
gravelly knolls and ridges, which in places constitute a nearly con- 
tinuous belt. The most conspicuous one, known as High Gap Ridge, 
leads from Culver Station westward past Taylor and West Point to 
the vicinity of the Fountain County line. It is, however, less than a 
mile in width, and the height of the ridges and knolls seldom exceeds 
50 feet. The most conspicuous topographic feature of the county is 
the troughlike valley traversed by the Wabash River. The valley 
proper has a depth of more than 100 feet. From its borders there is 
a gradual rise both to the northwest and southeast — to an altitude in 
the northwest more than 200 feet above the river, and in the south- 
east to fully 300 feet. 

With the exception of the sharp gravelly knolls referred to above, 
the surface portion of the drift is composed largely of compact till. 
The wells of the county usually find water at convenient depths, sel- 
dom penetrating so much as 80 feet. The lower portion of the drift, 
so far as tested by deep borings and by exposures along the Wabash 
and its tributaries, is largely sand and gravel. 

The thickness of the drift varies greatly, partly because of differ- 
ence in surface elevation, but more largely because of inequalities of 
the underlying rock surface. In the western part of the county, in 



68 WELLS OF NORTHERN INDIANA. [no.21. 

the vicinity of the Wabash River, rock ledges rise to a height of 50 
to 100 feet or more above the stream, and are well exposed on Flint 
Creek and Indian Creek. In the northeastern part of the county, 
also, there ai-e rock exposures on the borders of the Wabash and the 
lower course of Sugar Creek. Between these exposures, occupying 
the central portion of the county, there is a deeply filled basin, with 
drift 300 feet or more in thickness. This appears to be part of a 
great valley or trough which leads westward across southern Benton 
County. 

To sustain the view that a deeply filled valley extends westward 
across northern Tippecanoe County, two well sections in the north- 
western part of the county are cited. One, in sec. 26, T. 24, R. 6 W., 
reaches a depth of 176 feet without encountering rock; another, in 
sec. 18, T. 24, R. 5 W., strikes no rock at a depth of 126 feet. Toward 
the south, near the Wabash River, the rock appears in valleys of 
streams at a higher level than the botton of these wells. Passing 
northward into White County the rock appears at higher level than 
at these wells. It seems probable that the deepest portion of the 
valley passes near Dayton and Lafayette and thence north of west 
across the northwest part of the county, beyond which it finds its 
continuation westward through southern Benton County. 

Along the valley of the Wabash there are gravel terraces reaching 
a height of nearly 100 feet above the stream. The most conspicuous 
are located below Lafayette, where they receive the name Wea Plain. 
They are also conspicuous in the vicinity of Battle Ground village^ 
above Lafayette. 

Individual wells. — Wells on the terraces of the Wabash near Bat- 
tle Ground usually obtain no water within 50 feet of the surface, and 
in some instances are put down to a depth of 60 or 80 feet. Mr. J. M. 
Hicks's well, in the village of Battle Ground, is 79 feet, entirely through 
gravel, sand, or other alluvial deposits. Mr. J. P. Clute's well, in the 
same village, is 60 feet, striking blue till near the bottom. Wells east 
from Battle Ground, near the mouth of Moots Creek, are not infre- 
quently 75 feet in depth, and are largely through sand and gravel. 

On the uplands west from Battle Ground wells usually are obtained 
at about 20 or 30 feet, but are occasionally deeper. The following sec- 
tions of wells in that region have been published by Mr. Gorby:^ 

John Livingston's well, 2 miles west of Battle Ground, penetrates — 

Feet. 

1. Soil and yellow clay _.. 30 

2. Dry sand 20 

3. Blue clay 80 

4. Cemented gravel 2 

5. Loose gravel 13 

Total 95 

1 Fifteenth Ann. Rept. Indiana Geol. Survey, pp. 87-95. 



I/EVERETT.] TIPPECANOE COUNTY. 69 

James Bryant's well, 3 miles west of Battle Ground, penetrates — 

Feet. 

1. Soil and yellow clay 4 

2. Blue clay ---- - -- 50 

3. Dry sand -.. -- 20 

4. Coarse gravel 3 

Total ...: - - 76 

East of the Wabash, in the northern portion of the county, in the 
vicinity of Buck Creek village, wells are reported by Mr. Gorby to be 
occasionally 50 to 65 feet in depth. At John Stanfield's a well 65 feet 
penetrates sand nearly 50 feet before obtaining a coarse water stratum. 
At Moses Cole's, about 2 miles west of Buck Creek Station, a well 
penetrates 55 feet of gravel and sand, entering a blue till near the 
bottom. In Buck Creek village, W. W. C. Brown's well, 50 feet in 
•depth, penetrates till 20 feet, beneath which is a fine yellow sand. 

In eastern Tippecanoe County wells are usually obtained at 20 to 
40 feet. Mr. Gorby reports an unusually large amount of yellow till 
In that region, it being frequently 23 to 30 feet in depth. 

The gas- well boring at Dayton, in the eastern part of the county, 
penetrates about 300 feet of drift, of which a large part is thought to 
be sand. 

At Lafayette an artesian well, in the valley of the Wabash, about 
55 feet above low-water mark, or 560 feet above tide, penetrates 170 
feet of drift and obtains a flow of water from the Lockport limestone 
at 230 feet. The section of this well published by Mr. Gorby shows 
variable beds of sand, gravel, and clay to a depth of 30 feet, where a 
dark-gray clay is entered which extends to the depth of 102 feet. 
Beneath this there is a series of sand, gravel, and clay beds about 30 
feet, below which is a very bowldery bed, 40 feet in thickness, extend- 
ing to the rock. An analysis of the water from this well appears 
elsewhere.^ 

The city water supply of Lafayette is obtained from a gravel bed 
under the Wabash River, about 40 feet below the bed of the stream. 
The water is found in such abundance at this horizon that the springs 
which arise from it furnish a considerable portion of the water flowing 
in the Wabash in dry seasons. 

Private wells in Lafayette range in depth from 10 feet up to 60 feet, 
but are most numerous at 40 to 60 feet. As the city is located on a 
hillside, with variations of nearly 200 feet in elevation, the wells 
are obtained from several diiferent horizons. Exposures of the drift 
are quite extensive in the southern part of the city. They uniformly 
show a large amount of sand and gravel beneath a comparatively thin 
sheet of till. 

On the gravel terrace in west Lafayette, near Purdue University, 
which stands about 100 feet above the river, wells are often sunk to 
the level of the river bed through the sand and gravel of the terrace. 

1 Eighteenth Ann. Kept. U. S. Geol. Survey, Part IV, p. 498. 



70 WELLS OF NORTHERN INDIANA. [no. 21. 

On the portion of the terrace below Lafayette, known as the Wea 
Plain, wells are frequently put down to a depth of 100 feet or more, 
thus reaching the level of the river. In the northeastern portion of 
the Wea Plain wells encounter a blue till before reaching the level of 
the river, but throughout much of the terrace the gravel extends 
below river level. A well on this terrace reported by Mr. Gorbj^ has 
the following section : 

Feet. 

1. Soil--.. ..., a 

3. Fine gravel ._ 40 

3. Sand and gravel 32 

4. Gravel ... 40 

Total - _ 115 

This well is located about 1^ miles south of the river in sec. 30, T. 
23, R. 6 W. It is stated that at points nearer the river wells in some 
instances go to a depth of 125 or 130 feet before obtaining water. At 
points more remote from the river water is obtained at less depth. 

In the southern part of the county wells are quite generally obtained 
at slight depth, seldom exceeding 30 feet and often but 12 to 20 feet. 
In this region there is very often a bed of water-bearing gravel or 
sand at the base of the yellow till, 10 to 15 feet from the surface, which 
affords sufficient water for wells. In some cases, however, wells are 
carried into the underlying blue till and obtain water at depths of 30 
to 40 or 50 feet. 

CARROLL COUNTY. 

General statement. — Carroll County is situated in the north-central 
portion of the State and includes the part of Wabash Valley immedi- 
ately above Tippecanoe County. Delphi is its county seat. Its area 
is 370 square miles. The greater part of the county lies on the east 
side of the Wabash River. On the west there is a narrow wedge of 
upland occupying the interval between the Wabash and Tippecanoe 
rivers. There is a continuous ascent from the east bluff of the Wabash 
southeastward beyond the limits of the county, an altitude of over 800 
feet above tide being attained in its southeastern corner. The imme- 
diate bluffs of the Wabash are only 675 feet, while the stream is about 
125 feet lower. 

The surface of the county is either plane or gently undulating, if we 
except a few sharp drift knolls in the extreme northwest corner. The 
tributaries of the Wabash have all shallow channels. There is there- 
fore no conspicuous topographic feature within the county except the 
Wabash Valley, which has a breadth of a mile or more and a depth 
of 125 to 150 feet. This valley is bordered by gravel terraces similar to 
those of Tippecanoe County, the highest of which stand fully 100 feet 
above the level of the river. Lower terraces occur at several heights. 

The thickness of the drift varies greatly, there being quite extensive 
areas in the vicinity of Delphi, where roQk is exposed up to a height 



LEVEBETT] CLINTON COUNTY. 71 

of nearly 50 feet above the river. At Monticello, near the northwest 
corner of the county, the rock floor is found at a level about 100 feet 
lower than the Wabash. Borings in neighboring portions of Howard 
and Clinton counties on the southeast show drift 200 to 250 feet or 
more in thickness, the rock floor being lower than at the outcrops 
along the Wabash River. 

The drift of this county, so far as penetrated in wells, is generally a 
compact till. Exposures along the streams also are usually mainly 
till. The wells being shallow over the greater part of the county, the 
structure of the deeper portion of the drift is not known. 

There are very strong springs in the vicinity of Delphi, from which 
the city water supply is obtained. Their location is about 3 miles 
northeast of the city, on the farm of George Snyder. The supply is 
piped to the city and distributed from the standpipe and also by 
direct pressure.^ 

Individual wells. — Wells are usually obtained at such shallow depths 
that records of but few of them were obtained. One of the deepest 
was found at Rockfield, in the northern part of the county, where till 
to a depth of 57 feet was penetrated and no rock encountered. The 
dug wells at Rockfield are only 15 to 25 feet in depth. Tubular wells 
are 50 feet or more. 

Along the Wabash terraces, both above and below Delphi, wells are 
occasionally carried to a depth of 40 feet in gravel and sand; but in 
the vicinity of Delphi, where rock underlies the terrace at slight 
depth, they are sometimes found at the base of the gravel 10 to 20 
feet. On the narrow strip of upland west of the Wabash records of 
two wells were obtained, each about 50 feet in depth, one of which 
was largely through till and the other largely through sand and gravel, 
though only 40 rods apart. 

At Flora a gas- well boring penetrates 136 feet of drift thought to 
be largely till. There are several flowing wells at this village obtain- 
ing water at depths of 12 to 47 feet, the distance to the water-bearing 
stratum differing in the several wells. The wells are located on low 
ground along Bachelor's Run, and their head is only about 5 feet above 
the surface. 

CLINTON COUNTY. 

General statement. — Clinton County is situated in the north-central 
portion of the State, south of Carroll and east of Tippecanoe County, 
with Frankfort as its county seat. It has an area of 400 square miles. 
This county is an elevated plain, in which the slope is westward and 
northward from the southeast part. Its highest points are probably 
950 feet above tide, while its lowest are about 700 feet. To the trav- 
eler, however, the county has the appearance of a nearly level plain, 
the rate of descent being gradual. 

1 Seventeenth Ann. Rept. Indiana Geol. Survey, p. 172. 



72 WELLS OF NORTHERN INDIANA. [wo. 21. 

The greater elevation of the southeastern portion of the county has 
been shown by numerous gas- well borings to be due, not to the height 
of rock surface, but to accumulations of drift, there being about 300 
feet of drift in that part of the county. 

The surface portion of the drift of this county is a compact till, but 
gas-well borings show that the deeper portion is largely sand and 
gravel. 

Individual wells. — At Frankfort, the county seat, dug wells are 
usually obtained at 18 to 25 feet. Tubular wells find a large supply 
of water at 55 to 65 feet. The wells range in depth from 10 up to 90 
feet. In the shallow wells sufficient clay is usually penetrated to 
insure freedom from surface contamination, though in some cases the 
water rises so near the surface as to be easily contaminated. 

The city water supply of Frankfort is obtained from wells sunk to a 
depth of about 30 feet below a reservoir which is itself 28 feet in depth. 
The water fills this reservoir within 3 feet of the surface. Six wells, 
8 inches in diameter, are estimated to furnish about 6,000,000 gallons 
a day. A gas- well boring in the northeast part of Frankfort has the 
following section : 

Feet. 

1. Till 30 

2. Quicksand _ _ 10 or 15 

3. Hard clay and gravel, with flow of water near bottom. 25 or 30 

4. Gravel and sand, with thin clay beds .._ 197 

5. Blue pebbly clay 13 

Total _.__ -. _ 278 

A well in the western part of the city did not reach rock at 297 feet. 
For several miles south and east from Frankfort water is obtained at 
15 to 30 feet, being mainly through till, with water-bearing gravel 
at bottom. North and west from the city the wells are often of 
greater depth. 

At Scircleville a gas- well boring penetrated 296 feet of drift, of 
which the upper 150 feet is largely till, but the remainder is mainly 
sand and gravel. Near the east line of the county, about 3 miles east 
of Scircleville, a gas- well boring enters rock at 260 feet. The drift 
there is mainly a blue till. 

At Kirklin, in the southeast part of the county, a gas-well boring 
has 252 feet of drift, of which the upper 40 feet is till, but the remain- 
der has alternations of sand and gravel in thin beds, with somewhat 
thicker sheets of till. The wells in the vicinity of Kirklin obtain a 
strong supply of water at 40 feet. West from Kirklin wells are often 
obtained at 16 or 18 feet. Tubular wells are, however, 60 or 70 feet, 
mainly through till. 

At Colfax the deepest wells are 60 or 70 feet, mainly through blue 
till. Shallower wells are, however, common in that region. 

At Mulberry, in the western part of the county, at an elevation 754 
feet above tide, a water well at the railway station, 220 feet in depth, 



1LEVERETT.] HOWARD COUNTY. 73 

did not reach rock. It is mainly through till. Another well at a 
sawmill in the same village is 150 feet in depth, mainly blue till. 

Near Gittingsville, in the northern part of the county, several flow- 
ing wells have been obtained at about 20 feet. They are along a val- 
ley in sec. 19, T. 23, R. 1 E. In section 30 of the same township a 
well at R. O. Young's, 71 feet in depth, penetrates till, with thin beds 
of gravel and sand. 

In the vicinity of Sedalia, in the extreme northern portion of the 
county, wells are occasionally sunk to a depth of 80 feet through till, 
but are usually shallower. A well at J. H. Brown's, in sec. 24, T. 23, 
R. 1 W., 126 feet in depth, penetrates — 

Feet. 

1. Till 68 

2. Sand, with vegetal deposits and inflammable gas _ 16 

3. Sand 43 

4. Gravel, with water at bottom. 

Total _ 126 

In the Fifteenth Report of the Indiana Survey attention is called to 
the occurrence of many bowlders in the blue till in Stony Prairie, 5 
or 6 miles southwest from Frankfort, from the surface down to a 
depth of 50 feet. The western half of the county is liberally strewn 
with bowlders, but they seldom extend to such depth as to be trouble- 
some in excavating wells. 

• HOWARD COUNTY. 

General statement. — Howard County is situated in the north-central 
poition of the State, immediately south of Cass and Miami counties, 
with Kokomo as its county seat. Its area is 300 square miles. The 
entire surface of the county is plain or gently undulating, there 
being few, if any, knolls and ridges rising more than 20 feet above 
the general level. With the exception of a narrow belt along Wild 
Cat Creek, west from Kokomo, which is less than 800 feet above tide, 
and possibly a narrow strip on the north border, the county stands 
between the 800 and 900 feet contour. 

The greater portion of the county has a moderate coating of drift, 
75 feet or less. But the southwestern part has a larger amount, there 
being at Russiaville and neighboring points about 150 feet. Where 
the drift is of moderate depth it is composed mainly of till, but the 
deeper portions include much sand and gravel in their lower part. 
Wells not infrequently find abundance of water at 10 or 20 feet, in 
beds of gravel between the yellow and blue till, and they rarely pene- 
trate to a greater depth than 40 feet. 

Individual ivells. — At Kokomo wells are usually obtained at 35 or 
40 feet, either in gravel near the base of the drift or in the upper part 
of the underlying limestone. A few deep wells 100 to 150 feet have 
been sunk. The city waterworks are supplied from wells 100 feet in 
depth. 



74 WELLS OF NORTHERN INDIANA. [no. 21. 

Several gas borings have been made in the vicinity of Kokomo. In 
some cases the wells have encountered 90 feet of drift, but there is 
usually a much smaller amount. Some of those in Wild Cat Creek 
bottom and on the plain south of the creek enter rock at 10 to 20 feet 
or less. As a rule, these wells are productive of gas. Those to the 
west of the city in some cases yield no gas, but, instead, a flow of 
water. In the Indianapolis Sentinel for July 18, 1895, it is stated that 
one of these wells had been turned to good account by a farmer for 
irrigation during a season of excessive drought. Where the water 
contains only a moderate amount of saline matter such wells might be 
made to return some small share at least of the expense incurred in 
drilling for the gas. 

At the village of Greentown, 8 miles east of Kokomo, wells are 
usually obtained at 20 to 25 feet In gravel below till. A lower vein of 
water is obtained at 35 to 45 feet. Gas-well borings at this point show 
the drift to be about 85 feet in thickness. 

At Fairfield, 6 miles southeast of Kokomo, wells are usually ob- 
tained at 20 or 30 feet, there being about 20 feet of surface till. The 
drift in the vicinity of Fairfield is shown by gas borings to range from 
25 feet up to fully 75 feet in depth. The well near the railway station 
has 47 feet of drift, of which the upper 18 or 20 feet is till and the 
remainder gravel. A well 4 miles west of Fairfield was found to have 
165 feet of drift. 

A strong flow of fresh water was obtained from the limestone in a 
well half a mile north of Fairfield at a depth of 110 feet. It is esti- 
mated to discharge 5,000 barrels per day. The head is only 6 feet 
above the surface of the ground, and the well mouth at this point is 
25 feet lower than at Fairfield railway station. 

At Tampico, about 3 miles northeast of Fairfield, wells are usually 
obtained at 30 feet. The drift at that point is shown by a gas boring 
to be 103 feet in depth, of which the upper 25 feet is till; the remain- 
der consists of alternations of sand and till. A well 3 miles northeast 
of Tampico, bored for gas, has 115 feet of drift. It is reported to 
have passed through a bed of soil containing leaves at a depth of 103 
to 105 feet. 

A gas well at Sylvanus Barrett's, in the southeast township of the 
county, has 98 feet of drift, of which only the upper 10 feet is till, 
the remainder being gravel, a part of which is cemented. 

At Russiaville, in the southwest township of the county, the gas- 
well boring penetrates 153 feet of drift, as follows: 

Feet. 

1. Yellowtill lOto 12 

2. Sand with water 3 to 4 

3. Blue till 40 

4. Sand and gravel, with thin beds of till 95 to 100 

Total 153 

Water wells in that vicinity are obtained at shallow depths in the 
sand between till sheets. 



LEVERETT.] DETAILED DISCUSSION OF WELLS. 75 

TIPTON COUNTY. 

General statement. — Tipton County is situated in north-central 
Indiana, immediately south of Howard County, with Tipton as its 
county seat. Its area is 260 square miles. The surface of this county, 
like that of Howard, is gently undulating, and there is a thicker 
deposit of drift in its western than in its eastern portion. The west- 
ern portion is also correspondingly higher. In the southwestern part 
of the county the altitude exceeds 900 feet, while in the northeastern 
it is little more than 800 feet. The drift in the southwestern part 
is 250 to 300 feet in depth, while in the northeastern it is 75 to 100 
feet. The surface portion of the drift is generally a compact till, but 
the deeper portion contains large amounts of sand and gravel. 

Individual wells. — At Sharpsville, on the north border of the 
county, the gas-well borings pass through about 70 feet of drift, 
mainly till. Water wells are obtained at 20 or 25 feet or less, in thin 
beds of sand or gravel associated with the till. 

At the village of Windfall, in the northeast part of the county, the 
drift at a gas boring is 72 feet. There are, however, thin beds of sand 
and gravel associated with the till, which afford water for the wells. 

On the east border of the county, in the vicinity of Elwood, the 
drift ranges from 40 feet up to more than 100 feet in the several gas 
wells which have been sunk. It is mainly a blue till, but with the till 
there are beds of sand and gravel furnishing water at moderate depths. 

In the vicinity of Hobbs Station, and southeastward to the south- 
east corner of the county, gas wells usually enter rock at about 70 or 
80 feet, and the greater portion of the drift is till. 

At Tipton, near the center of the county, the gas wells show 140 to 
200 feet of drift, the greatest depth being found on the bank of Cicero 
Creek, in the east part of the city. The dug wells are often obtained 
at shallow depths, 12 to 20 feet, and it is thought they are liable to 
surface contamination, as the drift is of a porous, gravelly consti- 
tution. Better wells are found at 50 to 100 feet, after penetrating a 
sheet of till. Fresh water may be obtained from the limestone, also 
at several horizons down to about 400 feet, below which depth it is 
liable to become brackish. The city water supply is derived from 
near the top of the limestone. 

At Kempton, in the western part of the county, water is usually 
obtained at about 35 feet, in the gravel between sheets of till. Sev- 
eral gas wells have been sunk in the vicinity of Kempton, which show 
the drift to be 240 to 300 feet in thickness. One of these borings, in 
the east part of the village, penetrates the following drift series: 

Feet. 

1. Yellow till _ _... 10 

2. Sand and till, each in beds a few feet thick ._ 165 

3. Gravel 65 

4. Sand 17 

Total - _. 257 



76 WELLS OF NORTHERN INDIANA. [no.2L 

Another well in the village with 305 feet of drift penetrates — 

Feet. 

1. Till, with thin sand beds 200 

2. Sand and gravel _ 80 

3. Hard brown till _ 25 

Total _ .- 305 

A gas well half a mile east of Kempton has 243 feet of drift, con- 
sisting mainly of till, but having thin beds of sand and gravel. 

At the village of Atlanta a gas- well boring penetrates about 300 
feet of drift. Several gas-well borings in the southwest part of the 
county also penetrate drift 250 to 300 feet. 

The following drift section appears in a gas boring near the center 
of the county, 3 miles east of Tipton : 

Feet. 

1. Till, yellow and blue 38 

3. Gravel _ _ 5 

3. Blue till _ 45 

4. Gravel = _ _. ..._ 15 

Total -_ _ 103 

A gas well in sec. 10, T. 21, E,. 5 E., penetrates 130 feet of drift, 
as follows: 

Feet. 

1. Yellow till. 10 

2. Gravel _ _ _ 20 

3. Blue till 80 

4. Gravel _ 20 

Total .- _ 130 

GRANT COUNTY. 

General statement — Grant County is situated in the north-central 
part of the State, with Marion as its county seat, and has an area of 
420 square miles. It is traversed nearly centrally from southeast to 
northwest by the Mississinewa River. Along the east border of this 
stream is the Mississinewa moraine, having a breadth of about 5 miles. 
Aside from this moraine the surface of the county is a gently undulat- 
ing plain. The moraine itself has gentle swells and sags and is not 
strikingly in contrast with the plains. Its relief, however, being 50 
feet or more, makes it a noticeable feature. 

On the portion of the county west from the Mississinewa River the 
drift is usually thin, it being often but 20 feet or even less in depth. 
This district, however, appears to be traversed by deeply filled valleys 
in which the drift has a thickness of 150 to 160 feet or more. In the 
northeastern part of the county the drift deposits seldom fall below 
100 feet, and probably average nearly 150 feet. Throughout the county 
the surface portion of the drift is generally a compact till. In places 
where the drift is thick the deeper portions are often made up largely 
of sand and gravel. 



LEVERETT.] BLACKFORD COUNTY. 77 

Individual wells. — At the city of Marion the waterworks are sup- 
plied from two classes of wells — first, drift wells 70 feet in depth | 
second, wells in limestone 240 feet in depth. From both classes of 
wells the water rises nearly to the surface. A well 8 inches in diam- 
eter is estimated to yield nearly 4,000 barrels per day. The drift at 
Marion ranges from about 30 feet in the north part of the city to 150 
feet or more in the south part. The upper portion generally is till to 
a depth of 30 to 45 feet, the remainder largely sand and gravel. 

At Jonesboro, about 6 miles above Marion, on the Mississinewa 
River, wells are obtained in gravel below till at depths of 10 to 45 feet. 
The gas-well boring in the village shows the drift to be 162 feet. 

At Upland, in the eastern part of the county, wells are usually 
obtained at about 30 feet, in a bed of gravel between sheets of till. A 
few wells are sunk into the underlying rock and obtain water at about 
150 feet. The waterworks supply is from these rock wells. 

At Van Buren the gas well penetrates 92 feet of drift, largely till. 
Wells in the vicinity of that village are obtained at 20 or 30 feet. 

A gas boring in the northwestern part of the county penetrates 182 
feet of drift, which is reported to be mainly sand and gravel. 

In the southwestern portion of the county, although the drift is thin, 
wells are usually obtained without entering the rock, there being gen- 
erally a water-bearing gravel at the base of the drift. Gas-well bor- 
ings in this part of the county show the drift to have the following 
thicknesses at the principal villages : At Switzer, 28 feet ; at Swayzee, 
22 feet; at Simms, 45 feet; at Point Isabel, 22 feet; at Fairmount, 5 
to 35 feet, the thickness varying in different wells. At Fairmount 
water wells are often drilled into the rock to a depth of about 30 feet. 
The waterworks supply is from such wells. 

BLACKFORD COUNTY. 

General statement. — Blackford County is situated somewhat north 
of the middle of the eastern portion of the State, and is one of the 
smallest counties, having an area of 170 square miles. Its county seat 
is Hartford City. The Mississinewa moraine traverses the southern 
townships of the county from west to east, and occupies about 75 
square miles. The remainder of the county is a plain. With the 
exception of a narrow belt in the northeastern part, along the Sala- 
monie River, the drift of this county is about like that of northeastern 
Grant County — 100 to 150 feet or more in thickness. In the north- 
east corner the thickness is but 20 or 30 feet, or even less. The drift 
is composed mainly of a compact till, though beds of sand and gravel 
are sufficiently numerous to supply water for most of the wells at mod- 
erate depths. 

Individual wells. — At Montpelier, in the northeastern part of the- 
county, wells are in some cases drilled into the limestone, though 
usually obtaining water at the base of the drift at depths of 15 to 30 
feet. 



78 WELLS OF NORTHERN INDIANA. [no. 21. 

At Mill Grove, in the eastern part of the county, a gas- well boring 
penetrates 143 feet of drift, mainly till. Water wells are usually 
obtained at moderate depths, seldom more than 40 feet. In a few 
instances, however, they reach a depth of fully 100 feet in that part 
of the county. 

At Hartford City the several gas borings show the drift to range in 
depth from 80 feet up to 150 feet or more. It is composed of till, 
interrupted by occasional thin beds of sand. The waterworks supply 
is from wells drilled into the underlying limestone to a depth of about 
250 feet. A well at one of the hotels in Hartford City enters rock 
at 112 feet. The upper 80 feet is a nearly solid bed of till, below which 
is 32 feet of sand and gravel. A well 1 mile northwest of llartford 
City, in section 10, has 177 feet of drift, of which the upper 100 feet 
is till and the remainder largely sand. One well in the southeast part 
of Hartford City enters rock at about 80 feet after penetrating 60 feet 
of till and about 20 feet of sand. 

JAY COUNTY. 

General statement. — Jay County is situated on the eastern border of 
the State, somewhat north of the middle, with the county seat at Port- 
land. Its area is 396 square miles. This county is traversed from west 
to east by two morainic belts, the Mississinewa and the Salamonie. 
The Mississinewa moraine is confined mainly to the southern tier of 
townships and has a breadth of about 5 miles. The Salamonie 
moraine is situated mainly in the northern tier of townships, but 
enters the northern portion of the middle tier near the State line. 
Its breadth is 3 to 5 miles. The remainder of the county has a nearly 
plane surface, sloping gently toward the north. With the exception 
of a few sharp knolls on the Salamonie moraine near Camden (Penn- 
ville post-ofi&ce), in the northwest part of the county, the moraines 
have gentle swells and sags, which give them but little contrast with 
the gently undulating plains. They present, however, a nearly con- 
tinuous ridge with relief of 30 to 50 feet or more above the bordering 
plains. The altitude of the southern portion of the county exceeds 
1,000 feet. The northern border of the county falls below 900 feet. 

The drift is composed mainly of a sheet of compact till, and its 
thickness probably averages about 100 feet. The rock is rarely struck 
at less than 50 feet, and at Geneva, near the north border of the 
county, a gas- well boring shows 350 feet of drift. 

Individual wells. — Along the north border of the county, near the 
State line, rock is found at 10 to 20 feet, and wells are often sunk 
into it to slight depths. The thin drift, however, occupies but a few 
square miles. At Bryant, near the middle of the north line of the 
county, the drift was found to be 112 feet in thickness. 

About 6 miles west of Bryant, in sees. 19 and 30, T. 24, R. 13 E., 
wells are difficult to obtain, the moraine at that point being composed 



liEVERETT.J 



JAY COUNTY. 79 



of till to a depth of 125 feet or more. One well has a depth of 125 
feet, another 140 feet, and another 155 feet, none of which enter rock. 
About a mile west of these wells rock is struck at 130 feet in a well in 
section 13, Penn Township. 

At Pennville, in southern Penn Township, on the Salamonie River, 
rock is struck at about 40 feet in several gas borings. 

At Portland, the county seat, wells are often obtained at 14 to 30 
feet in gravel, but more frequently they are drilled into limestone, 
which is entered at 30 to 60 feet in the vicinity of this town. A few 
wells have a depth of 150 feet. The waterworks supply is from wells 
drilled into the limestone. It is thought that the shallow wells are 
protected from contamination by a bed of clay which overlies the 
water-bearing gravel. 

Immediately east of Portland wells are obtained in sand between 
yellow and blue tills at 12 to 20 feet; the blue till is struck at 15 to 
30 feet, and extends to the underlying rock at 45 to 50 feet. 

A well in section 18, Noble Township, 5 miles east of Portland, 
enters rock at 83 feet; one in section 17 enters rock at 160 feet, and 
one in section 7 enters rock at 57 feet. They are all situated near 
the south border of the Salamonie moraine and are mainly through 
till. 

Near Bellefontaine, in the east part of the county, wells enter rock 
at 80 to 135 feet and are mainly through till. 

At Como, 6 miles southwest from Portland, the drift is 80 feet, and 
at Red Key 73 feet, mainly till at both places. 

At Dunkirk, in the southwestern part of the county, the best wells 
are obtained near the top of the limestone at depths of 65 to 100 feet. 
The waterworks are supplied from wells of this class. Shallower 
wells afford only a small amount of water. 

Along the Mississinewa moraine, in the southern part of the county, 
farmers not infrequently^ have sunk wells to a depth of 50 to 75 feet 
or more before obtaining an adequate supply of water. This moraine 
appears to afford but little water at shallow depths.^ 

1 The size of a single paper in this series being limited by law to 100 pages, the remainder of 
this paper— the portion relating to the southern part of the State — will be published as Water- 
Supply Paper No. 26 (in press). 



INDEX. 



Page. 
Adams County, description of wells in..- 51-52 

Ainsworth, description of wells near 14 

Albion , descrip tion of wells at 32, 34 

Allen County, description of wells in 48-51 

Ambia, description of wells near 64,66 

Amboy, description of wells at.. 58 

Andrews, description of wells near 54-55 

Angola, description of wells near. 28-29 

Atlanta, description of wells at . . - 76 

At wood, description of wells at 36 

Auburn, description of wells near 30 

A villa, description of wells near 33 

Battle Ground, description of wells near. 68-69 

Belief on taine, description of wells near. . 79 

Benton County, description of wells in.. 61-66 
Blackford County, description of wells in 77-78 

Blair, description of well at. 16 

Bluff ton, description of wells at 53 

Boone Grove, description of wells at 18 

Boswell, description of well near. 64,65 

Bremen, description of wells near 38 

Brimfield, description of wells near 34 

Brooke, description of wells near 43 

Bryant, description of wells near 78-79 

Buck Creek, description of wells near 69 

Bunker Hill, description of wells near... 58 

Burkett, description of wells near 37 

Butler, description of wells near 30 

Carroll County, description of wells in.. 70-71 

Cass County, description of wells in 59 

Chalmers, description of wells near 61 

Chamberlin, T. C, cited. 11 

Chesterton, description of wells near 16 

Churubusco, description of wells at 48 

Clay pool, description of wells near 37 

Clinton County, description of wells in.. 71-73 

Colfax, description of wells at 72 

Collins, description of wells at 48 

Columbia City, description of wells at... 48 

Crown Point, description of wells near.. 14 

Dayton, description of well at 69 

Decatur, description of wells at 51 

Dekalb County, description of wells in .. 29-31 

Delphi, description of wells near 71 

Denver, description of well at 58 

Dryer, C. R., cited 25,26,27,28 

Dunkirk, description of wells at 79 

Earl Park, description of wells near , 62 

Elkhart, description of wells at 24 

Elkhart County, description of wells in.. 23-25 

Elwood, description of wells at 75 

Erie ice lobe, description of 11 

Etna Green, desci'iption of wells at 36 

IRR 21 — ~G 



Page. 

Fairfield, description of wells near 74 

Fairmount, description of wells at 77 

Flora, description of wells near. 71 

Fort Wayne, description of wells at 49 

Fowler, description of wells near 63 

Frankfort, description of wells near 72 

Fulton County, description of wells in . . . 46-47 

Furnessville, description of well at 16 

Galveston, description of wells at 59 

Garrett, description of wells at 31 

Geneva, description of wells at 52 

Gibson, description of wells at 14 

Gittingsville, description of wells near .. 73 

Glacial conditions of Indiana 9-13 

Goshen, description of wells at 24 

Grant County, description of wells in 76-77 

Greentown, description of wells at. 74 

Hageman, description of wells at 16 

Hammond, description of wells at 14 

Hartford City, description of wells near. 78 

Hawville, description of wells near 34 

Hebron, description of wells at 18 

Hessville, description of wells at. 14 

Hobart, description of wells near 14 

Hobbs Station, description of wells at . . . 75 
Howard County, description of wells in.. 73-74 

Hudson, description of wells near 29 

Huntington, description of wells at 54 

Huntington County, description of wells 

in 54-55 

Illinoian drift sheet, description of 10 

In wood, description of wells at. 38 

lowan drift sheet, description of 10 

Jackson Center, description of wells near. 18 
Jasper County, description of wells in... 44-45 

Jay County, description of wells in 78-79 

Jonesboro, description of wells at 77 

Kempton, description of wells near 75-76 

Kendallville, description of wells near. . . 32-33 
Kentland, description of wells near... 41-42,43 

Kewanna, description of wells at. 47 

Kirklin, description of wells near 72 

Knox, description of wells at 39-40 

Kokomo, description of wells near 73-74 

Kosciusko, description of wells at 36 

Kosciusko County, description of wells in . 35-37 

Kouts Station, description of wells at 18 

Lacrosse, description of wells near 21 

Lafayette, description of wells near 69-70 

Lafontaine, description of wells at 56 

Lagrange, description of wells near 25-26 

Lagrange County, description of wells in . 25-27 

Lagro, description of wells near 57 

81 



82 



INDEX. 



^ 



Page. 
Lake, description of wells at 14 

Lake County, description of wells in lS-14 

Lake Maxinkuckee, description of wells 

near 38-39 

Laketon, description of wells at 56 

Laporte County, description of wells 

in. 18-31 

Ligonier, description of wells at 35 

Liverpool, description of wells at 14 

Loess defined 10 

Logansport, description of wells near 59 

Marion, description of wells at. 77 

Marshall County, description of wells in. 37-39 

Maxinkuckee moraine, description of 11 

Medary ville , description of wells at 46 

Mentone , description of wells near 37 

Metz, description of wells near - . 39 

Miami County, description of wells in,-- 57-58 
Michigan City, description of wells near. 19-30 

Milf ord, description of wells at 36 

Mill Grove, description of wells at 78 

Miller Station, description of well near.. 14 

Mishawaka, description of wells at. 33 

Monon, description of wells at 60 

Monticello, description of wells at 60 

Montpelier, description of wells at.. 77 

Morocco, description of wells at 43 

Mount Ayer , description of wells at 43 

Mulberry, description of wells at 72-73 

New Haven, description of wells near 50 

New Lancaster, description of wells near 54 
New Madison, description of wells near. . 57 

New Paris, description of wells near 34^35 

Newell, F. H., letter of transmittal by... 7 
Newton County, description of wells in.. 40^3 

Noble County, description of wells in 31-35 

Noblesville, description of wells near 34 

North Galveston, description of wells 

near ,.. 36 

North Judson, description of wells at 40 

North Liberty, description of wells near. 23 
North Manchester, description of wells 

near 55-56 

Oswego, description of wells near 36 

Otterbein, description of wells near 64^-65 

Oxford , description of wells near 65-66 

Pennville, description of wells at 79 

Peru, description of wells near 58 

Pierceton, description of wells near 36 

Pleasant Mills, description of wells at 53 

Plymouth, description of wells near 38 

Porter County, description of wells in 15-18 

Portland, description of wells near 79 

Pulaski County, description of wells in.. 46 

Remington, description of wells at. 45 

Rensselaer, description of wells near 45 

Reynolds, description of wells near 60-61 



Page. 

Roanoke, description of wells near 54 

Rochester, description of wells at 47 

Rockfield. description of wells at. 71 

Rome City, description of wells near 34 

Royal Center, description of wells at 59 

Russia ville, description of wells near 74 

Saginaw ice lobe, description of 11 

St. John, description of wells near 14 

St. J oseph, description of wells near 31 

St. Joseph County, description of wells in . 31-23 

Scircle ville, description of wells near 73 

Sedalia, description of wells near 73 

Sharpsville, description of wells at 75 

Somerset, description of wells near 56 

South Bend, description of wells near. -. 23,23 
South Milf ord, description of well near.. 27 
Spencer ville, description of wells near. _ . 31, 50 
Starke County, description of wells in... 39-40 
Steuben County, description of wells in. . 27-29 

Sugar Grove, description of well at 63 

Surrey, description of wells near 44 

Talbot, description of well near 64,65 

Tampico, description of wells at 74 

Teegarden, description of wells near 38 

Templeton, description of wells near 65,66 

Till defined 13 

Tippecanoe County, description of wells 

in .- 67-70 

Tip ton, description of wells at 75, 76 

Tipton County, description of wells in... 75-76 

Tolleston, description of wells at 1 

Uniondale, description of wells near 53 

Upland, description of wells at . 77 

Valentine, description of well near 36 

Valparaiso, description of wells near 17-18 

Valparaiso moraine, description of. 11 

Van Buren, description of wells at 77 

Wabash, description of wells at 56 

Wabash County, description of wells in. . 55-57 

Walkerton, description of wells near 33 

Walton, description of wells at 59 

Warren, description of wells near 55 

Warren County, description of wells in.. 66-67 

Warsaw, description of wells near 36-37 

Waterloo, description of well at 30 

Wells County, description of wells in 53-53 

West Lebanon, description of wells near. 67 

Wheeler, description of wells near 17 

White County, description of wells in. ... 60-61 

Whiting, description of wells at 14 

Whitley County, description of wells in. . 47-48 
Williamsport, description of wells near.. 66-67 

Winamac, description of wells at 46 

Windfall, description of wells at 75 

Wisconsin drift sheet, description of 10 

Wolcottville, description of well near 27 

Xenia, description of wells at 58 



^v> 



Sixteenth Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey, 1894-95, Part II, 
Papers of an economic character, 1895; octavo, 598 pp. 

Contains a paper on the public lands and their water supply, by F. H, Newell, illustrated 
by a large map showing the relative extent and location of the vacant public lands; also a 
report on the water resources of a portion of the Great Plains, by Robert Hay. 

A geological reconnoissance of northwestern Wyoming, by George H. Eldridge, 
1894; octavo, 72 pp. Bulletin No. 119 of the United States Geological Survey; 
price, 10 cents. 

Contains a description of the geologic structure of portions of the Big Horn Range and 
Big Horn Basin, especially with reference to the coal fields, and remarks upon the water 
supply and agricultural possibilities. 

Report of progress of the division of hydrography for the calendar years 1893 and 
1894, by F. H. Newell, 1895; octavo, 176 pp. Bulletin No. 131 of the United 
States Geological Survey; price, 15 cents. 

Contains results of stream measurements at various points, mainly Mf^thln the arid 
region, and records of wells In a number of counties in western Nebr&sloi, western Kansas, 
and eastern Colorado. 

1896. 

Seventeenth Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey, 1895-96, Part 
II, Economic geology and hydrography, 1896; octavo, 864 pp. 

Contains papers, on "The underground water of the Arkansas Valley in eastern Colo- 
rado," by G. K. Gilbert; "The water resources of Illinois," by Frank Leverett; and "Pre- 
liminary report on the artesian areas of a portion of the Dakotas," by N. H. Darton. 

Artesian- well prospects in the Atlantic Coastal Plain region, by N. H. Darton, 
1896; octavo, 230 pp., 19 plates. Bulletin No. 138 of the United States Geo- 
logical Survey; price, 20 cents. 

Gives a description of the geologic conditions of the coastal region from Long Island, 
N. Y., to Georgia, and contains data relating to many of the deep wells. 

Report of progress of the division of hydrography for the calendar year 1895, by 
F. H. Newell, hydrographer in charge, 1896; octavo, 356 pp. Bulletin No. 
140 of the United States Geological Survey; price, 35 cents. 

Contains a description of the instruments and methods employed in measuring streams 
and the results of hydrographic investigations ki various parts of the United States. 

1897. 

Eighteenth Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey, 1896-97, Part 
IV, Hydi'ography, 1897; octavo, 756 pp. 

Contains a " Report of progress of stream measurements for the year 1896," by Arthur P. 
Davis; " The water resources of Indiana and Ohio," by Frank Leverett; "New develop- 
ments in well boring and irrigation in South Dakota," by N. H. Darton; and " Reservoirs 
for irrigation," by J. D. Schuyler. 

1898. 

Nineteenth Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey, 1897-98, Part 
IV, Hydrography, 1899; octavo, 814 pp. 

Contains a "Report of progress of stream measurements for the calendar year 1897," by 
F. H. Newell and others; "Tbe rock waters of Ohio," by Edward Orton; and "Preliminary 
report on the geology and water resources of Nebraska west of the one hundred and third 
meridian," by N. H. Darton. 

Water-Supply and Irrigation Papers, 1896-1898. 

This series of papers is designed to present in pamphlet form the results of stream meas- 
urements and of special investigations. A list of these, with other information, is given 
on the outside (or fourth) page of this cover. 

Survey bulletins can be obtained only by prepayment of cost, as noted above. 
Postage stamps, checks, and drafts can not be accepted. Money should be trans- 
mitted by postal money order or express order, made payable to the Director of 
the United States Geological Survey. Correspondence relating to the publica- 
tions of the Survey should be addressed to The Director, United States Geolog- 
ical Survey, Washington, D. C. 
IRR 21 



^■f^^^wiATER-SUPPIiY ANB IRRIGATION PAPERS. ^H 

K 1. Pumping water for irrigation, by Herbert M. Wilson, 1896. ^ 

m 2. Irrigation near Phoenix, Arizona, by Arthur P. Davis, 1897. 

K 3. Sewage irrigation, by George W. Rafter, 1897. 

R 4. A reconnoissance in southeastern Washington, by Israel C. Russell, 1897. 

B 5. Irrigation practice on the Great Plains, by E. B. Cowgill, 1897. 

B 6. Underground waters of southwestern Kansas, by Erasmus Haworth, 1897. 

K 7. Seepage waters of northern Utah, by Samuel Fortier, 1897. 

K 8. Windmills for irrigation, by E. C. Murphy, 1897. 

9. Irrigation near Greeley, Colorado, by David Boyd, 1897. 

10. Irrigation in Mesilla Valley, New Mexico, by F. C. Barker, 1898. 

11. River heights for 1896, by Arthur P. Davis, 1897. 

12. Water resources of southeastern Nebraska, by Nelson Horatio Darton, 1898. 

13. Irrigation systems in Texas, by William Ferguson Hutson, 1898. 

14. New tests of pumps and water lifts used in irrigation, by O. P. Hood, 1898. 

15. Operations at river stations, 1897, Part I, 1898. 

16. Operations at river stations, 1897, Part II, 1898. 

17. Irrigation near Bakersfield, California, by C. E. Grunsky, 1898. 

18. Irrigation near Fresno, California, by C. E. Grunsky, 1898. 

19. Irrigation near Merced, California, by C. E. Grunsky, 1899. 

20. Experiments with windmills, by Thomas O. Perry, 1899. 

21. Wells of northern Indiana, by Prank Leverett, 1899. 

In addition to the above, there are in various stages of preparation other papers 
relating to the measurement of streams, the storage of water, the amount available 
from underground sources, the efficiency of windmills, the cost of pumping, and 
other details relating to the methods of utilizing the water resources of the coun- 
try. Provision has been made for printing these by the following clause in the 
sundry civil act making appropriations for the year 1896-97: 

Provided, That hereafter the reports of the Geological Survey in relation to the 
gauging of streams and to the methods of utilizing the water resources may be 
printed in octavo form, not to exceed 100 pages in length and 5,000 copies in num- 
ber; 1,000 copies of which shall be for the official use of the Geological Survey, 
1,500 copies shall be delivered to the Senate, and 2,500 copies shall be delivered to 
the House of Representatives, for distribution. (Approved, June 11, 1896; Stat. 
L., vol. 29, p. 453.) 

The maximum number of copies available for the use of the Geological Survey 
is 1,000. This number falls far short of the demand, so that it is impossible to 
meet all requests. Attempts are made to send these pamphlets to persons who 
have rendered assistance in their preparation through replies to schedules or dona- 
tion of data. Requests specifying a certain paper and stating a reason for asking 
for it are attended to whenever practicable, but it is impossible to comply with 
general requests, such as to have all of the series sent indiscriminately. 
Application for these papers should be made either to members of Congress or to 

The Director, 

United States Geological Survey, 
IRR 21 Washingtony D. C. 



